The world may be a smaller place in the light of communication and travel technology, but it is still a large planet when it comes to effective international governance. Given the approximately 6 billion persons and the 190 states or so that existed at the turn of the twenty-first century, and given the weakness of global organizations like the United Nations, it was both logical and sometimes politically feasible to look to regional organizations for the advancement of human rights. This chapter will show that regional developments for human rights have been truly remarkable in Europe, decidedly ambiguous in the Western Hemisphere, embryonic in Africa, and otherwise weak. The key to the effective regional protection of human rights is not legal drafting, but underlying political culture, political will, and political acumen. In Europe where there are considerable cases and other regional human rights decisions to analyze, I provide a summary analysis. In the Western Hemisphere with substantial case law and other important regional decisions only recently, I provide mostly political analysis of underlying conditions but some attention to legal factors. I treat Africa briefly because of lack of impact through regional arrangements. Europe After World War II, significant US foreign aid to Europe in the form of the Marshall Plan encouraged regional cooperation, especially of an economic nature. Most West European elites endorsed this approach at least to some degree, both in pursuit of economic recovery and to defend traditional western values in the face of Soviet-led communism. One result was the creation of the Council of Europe (CE) with its strong focus on human rights. Separately, owing to reluctance of the UK to integrate fully with the rest of Western Europe, one had the development of the European Communities, which more or less evolved into the European Union (EU). By the start of the twenty-first century it was evident that this bifurcation, while it had "worked" to a considerable degree, was not a completely happy situation. As European international integration proceeded, the contradictions of bifurcation were salient as never before. In addition to the EU and the CE, there was also the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), not to mention the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). While trans-Atlantic, they had substantial European membership.


2298 Very little is known about the ability of TIMP-4 to directly inhibit angiogenesis. In the past, TIMP-4 had been shown to inhibit tumor cell invasion in vitro and to retard the growth of tumor cells that overexpress TIMP-4 when implanted into mice. This study also suggested that TIMP-4 might be an angiogenesis inhibitor based on the observation that TIMP-4 overexpressing tumors showed reduced microvascular density. However, more recent studies have shown that TIMP-4 stimulates the growth of the same tumor type when TIMP-4 was delivered by adenoviral transfection. It has largely been assumed that TIMP-4, by virtue of being a tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases, also inhibits angiogenesis despite the fact that TIMP-4 has not specifically tested for its ability to inhibit angiogenic processes in vitro and angiogenesis in vivo. Previous work from our laboratory and others demonstrates that another TIMP, TIMP-2, inhibits angiogenesis by two distinct pathways, one which is dependent on the inhibition of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and the other which is MMP inhibition-independent. We have shown that a fragment of TIMP-2 lacking MMP-inhibitory activity inhibits the proliferation of endothelial cells in vitro and angiogenesis in vivo. Given the high degree of homology between TIMP-2 and TIMP-4, and the fact that both have been shown to share the ability to bind MMP-2 through their carboxy-terminal domains, we hypothesized that TIMP-4 might share anti-proliferative and MMP inhibition-independent anti-angiogenic activities with TIMP-2. In order to test this hypothesis, we cloned TIMP-4 from a human heart cDNA library and subcloned it into the pPICZaA vector for expression in the Pichia pastoris yeast expression system. Expressed TIMP-4 was then purified by His-affinity followed by C4 reverse phase HPLC. In order to confirm the bioactivity of the protein, we first tested the purified TIMP-4 for its ability to inhibit MMP activity, and found that, consistent with previously published results, TIMP-4 inhibited MMP activity with an IC50 of approximately 15 nM. We next examined the effect of TIMP-4 on angiogenic processes, specifically capillary endothelial cell migration and proliferation. Our results demonstrate that TIMP-4 inhibits capillary EC migration at doses comparable to those reported for other cell types. Unlike TIMP-2, TIMP-4 did not significantly inhibit capillary EC proliferation, even at very high doses. We further compared the effects of the anti-proliferative domain of TIMP-2 (Loop 6) and Loop 6 of TIMP-4 (T4L6) and found that Loop 6 of TIMP-4 did not significantly inhibit capillary endothelial cell proliferation activity. Results of in vivo angiogenesis assays will also be presented.


A recent surge of interest for tennis has given rise to an increased incidence of injuries to the N. suprascapularis. The early symptoms of this pathology are often missed, leading subsequently to a chronic condition, including an irreversible trauma to the nerve. Nevertheless, through the study of three groups of professional tournament players, we were able to show that the neurological injury is reversible if the diagnosis is established early on and if the hurting movement is avoided until full recovery. A backhand stroke done with both arms seems to have a protective effect against this pathology.


Objective: The data on children with diagnosis of idiopathic transverse myelitis (ITM) was searched to find the pattern of myelitis in Oman. Method: A retrospective study was carried out from January1995 to December 2014. Electronic medical records and patient medical files were seen to get the complete data of the children with ITM. This work was carried out at Sultan Qaboos University hospital, Muscat, Oman. The ethical committee of the hospital had approved the study. The diagnosis was based on the established criteria. Other causes of myelopathy were excluded. Results: 19 children with idiopathic transverse myelitis were found. There were 18 out of 19 (94.6%) children with longitudinal extensive transverse myelitis (LETM). Conclusion: Longitudinal transverse extensive myelitis is the most common form of ITM in Oman.


The dynamical simulation of the standard configuration of the latest version of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Community Climate Model (CCM3) is examined, including the seasonal variation of its mean state and its intraseasonal and interannual variability. A 15-yr integration in which the model is forced with observed monthly varying sea surface temperatures (SSTs) since 1979 is compared to coexisting observations. Results show that the most serious systematic errors in previous NCAR CCM versions have either been eliminated or substantially reduced. At sea level, CCM3 reproduces the basic observed patterns of the pressure field very well. Simulated surface pressures are higher than observed over the subtropics, however, an error consistent with an easterly bias in the simulated trade winds and low-latitude surface wind stress. Amplitude errors and phase shifts of the subpolar low pressure centers over both hemispheres during winter produce the largest regional errors, which are on the order of 5 mb. In the upper troposphere, both the amplitude and location of the major circulation centers are very well captured by the model, in agreement with relatively small regional biases in the simulated winds. Errors in the zonal wind component at 200 mb are most notable between 408 and 508 lat of both hemispheres, where the modeled westerlies are stronger than observed especially over the Southern Hemisphere during winter. A ;50% reduction in the magnitude of the zonally averaged westerly bias in the equatorial upper troposphere that plagued previous CCM versions can be attributed to a significantly improved tropical hydrologic cycle and reduced Walker circulation. Over middle latitudes, the CCM3 realistically depicts the main storm tracks, although the transient kinetic energy is generally underestimated, especially over the summer hemispheres. Over lower latitudes, the model simulates tropical intraseasonal oscillations with marked seasonality in their occurrence. Typical periodicities, however, are near 20‐30 days, which are shorter than observed, and the simulated amplitudes are weaker than in both observations and previous versions of the model. The simulated response to interannual variations in tropical SSTs is also realistic in CCM3. A simulated index of the Southern Oscillation agrees well with the observed, and the model captures the overall structure and magnitude of observed shifts in tropical and subtropical convergence zones and monthly rainfall anomalies associated with the tropical SST changes.


Different group of vertebrates and invertebrates demonstrate an amazing diversity of gene regulations not only at the top but also at the bottom of the sex determination genetic network. As early as 1995, based on emerging findings in Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans, Wilkins suggested that the evolution of the sex determination pathway evolved from the bottom to the top of the hierarchy. Based on our current knowledge, this review revisits the 'bottom-up' hypothesis and applies its logic to vertebrates. The basic operation of the determination network is through the dynamics of the opposing male and female pathways together with a persistent need to maintain the sexual identity of the cells of the gonad up to the reproductive stage in adults. The sex-determining trigger circumstantially acts from outside the genetic network, but the regulatory network is not built around it as a main node, thus maintaining the genetic structure of the network. New sex-promoting genes arise either through allelic diversification or gene duplication and act specially at the sex-determination period, without integration into the complete network. Due to this peripheral position the new regulator is not an indispensable component of the sex-determining network and can be easily replaced. This article is part of the theme issue 'Challenging the paradigm in sex chromosome evolution: empirical and theoretical insights with a focus on vertebrates (Part I)'.


This is the second part of a two-paper set that presents a methodology to determine an optimal radial reconfiguration plan for a medium voltage (MV) distribution network. It is applicable to primary distribution systems with multicost and multipoint alternative supply for short and medium terms. The optimization criterion is based on minimizing the operation costs, including the purchased energy cost and switching cost. In addition to the proposed methodology, a main contribution of the work is to evaluate the impact of the energy price on the operative topology working within a competitive market structure, where the demand is supplied from several purchase nodes featuring significantly different energy prices. The methodology is based on dynamic programming, heuristics, and a method to calculate the economic dispatch (ED) through radialization specifically designed for multicost and multipoint alternative supply, as is the case of distribution networks. The capacity of the network components, the service quality, and the dynamics of the demand are considered. Finally, the advantages of applying the methodology to a realistic distribution network are discussed.


Twenty-four Holstein cows in midlactation during summer in southern Arizona were fed diets supplemented with a combination of blood, fish, and soybean meals (high quality protein) or corn gluten meal (low quality protein). Diets were balanced for CP content and estimated ruminal protein degradability, but they differed in Lys concentration (.98 vs. .59% of DM). Milk yield for the 56-d trial was higher by 11% for cows fed high than for cows fed low quality protein and higher by 9% for cows receiving evaporative cooling plus shade than for cows receiving shade alone. Milk fat and protein yields also were greater for high than for low quality protein and for evaporatively cooled plus shade than for shade treatments. Intake of DM tended to be higher for cooled cows but was unaffected by protein source. Cooled cows had lower rectal temperatures (38.6 vs. 39.1 degrees C) and respiration rates (64 vs. 82/min) than noncooled cows. Interactions between protein quality and cooling method were not statistically significant; however, cooled cows fed high quality protein had higher milk yield than noncooled cows. Digestibility of DM was higher for the low than for the high quality diet, but CP digestibilities were not different. Cows fed supplemental protein of higher Lys content were more productive.


The problem of minimizing makespan on a single batch-processing machine with non-identical job sizes is strongly NP-hard. This paper proposes an ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm with chaotic control to solve the problem. The metropolis criterion is adopted to select the paths of ants to escape immature convergence. In order to improve the solutions of ACO, a chaotic optimizer is designed and integrated into ACO to reinforce the capacity of global optimization. Batch first fit is introduced to decode the paths into feasible solutions of the problem. In the experiment, the instances of 24 levels are simulated and the results show that the proposed CACO outperforms genetic algorithm and simulated annealing on all the instances.


abstract:Many educators are looking for alternative ways to encourage and recognize student learning, yet new approaches bring forth new challenges. This article recounts a high school teacher's efforts to implement a digital badging (micro-credentialing) program in the English Language Arts classroom as an alternative to traditional forms of assessment. After participating in an open, online professional learning experience for educators, the Connected Learning Massive Open Online Collaboration (CLMOOC), Lauren Zucker hoped to bring some of its playfulness and sense of community back to her classroom through a digital badging program that she co-developed with students. In the process, students were invited to submit their classwork as evidence to claim peer-designed digital badges to document and reward newly-acquired curricular skills. Shortly after one student questioned the initiative, other problems with the badges program quickly exposed themselves related to motivation, autonomy, and the badge-issuing process. Situating this teacher's experience within an educational context that offers numerous alternatives to traditional instruction (e.g., gamification, flipping, project-based learning), and within institutions that still depend heavily on traditional methods of assessment (e.g., summative exams and essays), the authors reflect on the challenges of providing authentic choices to students while maintaining a balance between teacher-led and student-driven pedagogy.


The fungicide Captan inhibited the growth of Azospirillum brasilense at a concentration of 25 μg ml-1. When cysteine and glutathione were added to the medium they removed the toxicity of the fungicide. A spontaneous mutant was isolated which was able to grow and fix nitrogen in the presence of 100 μg Captan ml-1. Characterization of the mutant indicated very high levels of glutathione and glutathione transferase activity as compared to the parent strain. The role of these cellular components in the mechanism of resistance to Captan is discussed; the involvement of a selenium-independent glutathione peroxidase appears essential to Captan resistance in the mutant strain.


Some properties of an adaptive filtering structure that employs an analysis filterbank to decompose the input signal and sparse adaptive filters in the subbands are investigated in this paper. The necessary conditions on the filterbank and on the structure parameters for exact modeling of an arbitrary linear system with finite impulse response (FIR) are derived. Then, based on the results obtained for the sparse subfilter structure, a new family of adaptive structures with critical sampling of the subband signals, which can also yield exact modeling, is obtained. Two adaptation algorithms based on the normalized LMS algorithm are derived for the new subband structures with critical sampling. A convergence analysis, as well as a computational complexity analysis, of the proposed adaptive structures are presented. The convergence behavior of the proposed adaptive structures is verified by computer simulations and compared with the behavior of previously proposed algorithms.


Basement is defined, for the purposes of this discussion, as the metamorphic and (or) igneous rocks below End_Page 1246------------------------------ which there is no known stratigraphic or structural break. At least 300 holes have penetrated basement beneath the Mesozoic and Cenozoic sediments of the Atlantic Coastal Plain between New York and Georgia. Approximately 90 per cent of them penetrated basement at elevations above--1,000 feet M.S.L. The 10,054-foot Esso #1 Hatteras Light well, which encountered the top of basement at--9,954 feet M.S.L., is deepest. Drill hole plus meager geophysical data support the following tentative conclusions. Precambrian and Paleozoic metamorphic and igneous (including volcanic) rocks, similar to those exposed on the Piedmont to the west, constitute basement. Many of these rocks have been highly fractured and sheared. Part of the rocks accumulated in a pre-Mesozoic eugeosyncline. From at least late Mesozoic time the basement surface has played the role of a differentially warping platform. At least four periods of diastrophism are known to have occurred in this area. The regional structural (and topographical) trend is northeast-southwest. The surface of the basement may be characterized as an old age erosion surface--commonly referred to as the Fall Zone peneplain--with sporadic fault troughs, ridges, valleys, and "arches." Locally some of the rocks have been weathered to depths exceeding 150 feet. The basement surface dips generally seawardly from 15-40 feet per mile (with about 35 feet per mile typical) to approximately the--2,250-foot M.S.L. contour; seaward from this contour it steepens to about 100-125 feet per mile. Oil may occur in commercial quantities in weathered zones on or fractured zones in the basement or in sedimentary rocks that lens out against topographic highs on the basement surface. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1247------------


Objective

The purpose of this study is to estimate the fatigue life of five polycrystalline zirconia CAD/CAM ceramic materials used for posterior restoration. This study presents the first time methodology to translate raw data obtained from laboratory test into useful data to predict the clinical life of dental restoration.
Methods

A typical model for the first molar restored crown is built and transferred into finite element software ANSYS 18.1 flor execution FEA. The materials are: two Y-TZP zirconia (LAVA (LVs), and EVEREST (KVs); IPS e.max CAD; Suprinity PC; and Celtra Duo. Two types of loads are applied, axial load and axial load followed by the sliding motion of lower jaw. The fatigue resistance of various restorative materials is determined.
Results

Experimental findings show that all the samples have fractured between cusps at the same location, which is slightly off the symmetry fissure plane. For crowns made of LAVA and EVEREST, the life is longer than 10 years under an axial load of 1000 N, while the lives for IPS e.max CAD; Suprinity PC; and Celtra Duo were longer than 10 years under an axial load of 185 N. The life of all-ceramic crown materials was predicted by FEA and found to conform to previous experimental and clinical observations.
Conclusion

Crowns made of Y-TZP zirconia has superior fatigue resistance compared to other ceramic CAD/CAM materials.


This paper presents a multilingual legal information retrieval system for mapping recitals to articles in European Union (EU) directives and normative provisions in national legislation. Such a system could be useful for purposive interpretation of norms. A previous work on mapping recitals and normative provisions was limited to EU legislation in English and only one lexical text similarity technique. In this paper, we develop state-of-the-art text similarity models to investigate the interplay between directive recitals, directive (sub-)articles and provisions of national implementing measures (NIMs) on a multilingual corpus (from Ireland, Italy and Luxembourg). Our results indicate that directive recitals do not have a direct influence on NIM provisions, but they sometimes contain additional information that is not present in the transposed directive sub-article, and can therefore facilitate purposive interpretation.


This case describes the evolution of an entrepreneur's venture-capital fundraising, from seed-stage financing through later-round efforts. The case focuses on where the "action" is in venture finance: the exploitation of social capital by an entrepreneur and investors. Much of the teaching materials on venture finance focus on the economics of financing; while these materials provide useful information about the mechanics of valuation and how to structure venture-capital agreements, they miss the social side of venture-capital investing. The case illustrates the theoretical concept that social capital (i.e., a person's relationship to other people in society) influences venture finance. The case can be used in a class on entrepreneurship or venture finance.


The paper presents a coherent approach to application of rain data from long rain records. It is a staged approach based on the principle that a spectrum of methods should be made available to the practitioner, from the simplest calculation by hand to the most advanced application of historical rain events as input to the most complicated computer programmes. The simplest method is the traditional use of i-d-f-curves and the rational method. From that basis there are stages of increasing sophistication up to Utopian use of all the best means. The choice of method depends on the level of ambition and the accuracy of the basic input data for the catchment in question.


Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia caused similar symptoms to other community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). It is important to early quarantine suspected patients with COVID-19 pneumonia from patients with other CAP to reduce cross infection. The purpose of the study is to review and compare initial thin-section computed tomography (CT) features in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia and other community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Methods 24 cases of COVID-19 pneumonia (14 males and 10 females; age range, 14-87 years; mean age, 48.0 years) and 28 cases of CAP caused by other pathogens (13 males and 15 females; age range, 24-85 years; mean age, 49.5 years) were included. Thin-section CT features of the lungs for all patients were retrospectively reviewed by two independent radiologists. Results There were no significant differences for the shape of main lesions, pure ground glass attenuation (GGA), mixed GGA with consolidation, air bronchogram, linear opacities, halo sign/reversed halo sign, cavitation and lymphadenopathy between the group of COVID-19 pneumonia and the group of other CAP. However, the frequency of crazy-paving appearance, vessel dilatation, bilaterally involvement and peripherally distribution were significantly higher in patients with COVID-19 compared with other CAP ( p =0.031, p =0.000, p =0.029 and p =0.009, respectively). Conversely, the frequencies of pure consolidation, tree-in-bud sign and pleural effusion were significantly higher in patients with CAP than in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia ( p =0.002, p =0.000 and p =0.048, respectively). Conclusion There are considerable overlaps in thin-section CT features between COVID-19 pneumonia and other CAP. However, the presence of crazy paving pattern, vessel dilation, bilateral involvement and peripheral distribution contributes to the diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia. While the presence of pure consolidation tree-in-bud sign, pleural effusion can be assisting in exclusive the diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia.


Inflammation is increasingly being understood to be a key component to the pathophysiology of cerebrovascular lesions. Ferumoxytol, an iron oxide nanoparticle coated by a carbohydrate shell, has been used in MRI studies as an inflammatory marker because it is cleared by macrophages. Ferumoxytol-enhanced MRI has emerged as an important tool for noninvasive assessment of the inflammatory status of cerebrovascular lesions, namely aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations. Moreover, preliminary evidence suggests that ferumoxytol-enhanced MRI could be applied as a non-invasive tool to differentiate "unstable" lesions that require early intervention from "stable" lesions in which observation may be safe. Assessment of the effects of anti-inflammatory pharmacological interventions on cerebrovascular lesions is also a potentially crucial application of the technique. Future improvements in technique and MRI signal quantification will certainly pave the way for widespread and efficient use of ferumoxytol-enhanced MRI in clinical practice. In this paper, we review current data regarding ferumoxytol-enhanced MRI and discuss its current/potential applications and future perspectives.


This study was planned to investigate the utility of the vertical Faces Pain Scale (FPS) in the assessment of pain in stroke patients using the shoulder pain model and to assess its utility in the Turkish patient population. The secondary aim was to analyze the association of FPS with the quality of life and depression in the study population. Thirty stroke patients (group I) and 30 controls (group II), all suffering from shoulder pain were included in the study. The patients with subacute shoulder pain and with no other known diseases and impairments were recruited as a control group. Shoulder pain was evaluated by the commonly used pain scales including the Visual Analogue Scale, Likert Pain Scale and 0–10 Numerical Rating Scale besides FPS. Depression was screened using Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and quality of life was evaluated using Short Form-36 (SF-36). FPS showed good correlations with the other pain scales in both the groups (r=0.950–0.972 and 0.674–0.926, respectively). In group I, there were significant correlations between FPS and physical functioning, pain and emotional role subscales of SF-36 (r=−0.432, 0.707 and −0.461, respectively). Although there was a low correlation between the FPS and BDI scores, it was not statistically significant. In group II, FPS showed significant correlations with the BDI scores and all subscales of SF-36 except social functioning and vitality (r=−0.679 to 0.848). FPS had a high degree of convergent validity and can be used in the assessment of shoulder pain in stroke patients. It may be a good alternative for pain assessment especially in patients with speech disorders and illiterate patients.


Abstract A population of South Georgian diving petrels (Pelecanoides georgicus) (c. 130 g) became extinct at Mason Bay, on the west coast of Stewart Island, before European settlement. Pacific rat (Rattus exulans) bones with the diving petrel fossils provided an opportunity to determine whether the rats arrived before the petrels went extinct. Fifteen 14C accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) ages on purified diving petrel bone gelatin from various parts of Mason Bay clustered unexpectedly in the 14th and 15th centuries ad, and none was older. Bayesian statistical analysis, using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo procedure, gave a 95% probability that the diving petrel colony was founded between 1338 and 1440 ad, lasted 40–310 years, and became extinct between 1475 and 1650 ad. Possible reasons for the late colonisation of Mason Bay by South Georgian diving petrels burrow are discussed. Bayesian analysis of five 14C AMS determinations on Pacific rat bone gelatin did not exclude the possibility that the Pacific rat arrived before the diving petrel colony was established. However, the enriched 513C of their bone gelatin suggests that the rats had a partially marine diet, and a terrestrial calibration procedure for their AMS ages was probably not appropriate. The Pacific rat is likely to have arrived after the diving petrel colony became established and probably caused the bird's extinction after a short period of coexistence.


The work presented in this paper is dealing with numerical simulation of energy separation mechanism and flow phenomena within a Ranque-Hilsch vortex tube. Simulation of turbulent, compressible, highly swirling flow inside vortex tube is performed using RANS approach, with Favre averaged conservation equations. For turbulence closure, k − e and k − ω SST models are used. It is assumed that the mean flow is axisymmetric, so the 2-D computational domain is used. Compu- tations were performed using open-source CFD software OpenFOAM. All com- pressible solvers available within OpenFOAM were tested, and it was found that most of the solvers cannot predict energy separation. Code of two chosen solvers, which proved as the most robust, is modified in terms of mean energy equation implementation. Newly created solvers predict physically accepted behavior in vortex tube, with good agreement with experimental results. Comparison between performances of solvers is also presented.


Novel Diffractive Optical Elements of MODAN-type open up new promising potentialities of solving the tasks of generation, transformation, superposition and subsequent separation again of different transversal laser modes with high efficiency. In we presented for the first time a MODAN capable of transforming a Gaussian TEM00 input beam into a unimodal Gauss-Hermite (GH) (1,0) complex amplitude distribution. Now we present new results achieved by combining several MODANs in one optical set-up: The aim of these investigations is to transform a single TEM00 input laser beam into several partial beams, each of them described by a different unimodal GH (n,m) mode structure. After separately modulating these partial beams in time, and subsequent superposing them to again one beam by means of a conventional beamsplitter, this unified multimode beam is permitted to propagate in space. Following that, an 'analyzing' MODAN is applied to this transversal multimode beam -- a diffractive element which is capable of realizing a spatial modal decomposition of an illuminating beam. For the investigations to be presented here, we restricted ourselves to two unimodal beams and selected as transforming MODANs one element of TEM00-to-GH (1,0) type described and one of TEM00-to-GH (0,1) type. The analyzing MODAN was calculated as a phase-only element using the crossed-gratings method and manufactured with the same technology like the two other elements. Theoretical as well as first experimental results demonstrate promising perspectives for the selected concept.


Serum components, such as lipoproteins, coagulation factors (factor VII, tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), fibrinogen), and homocysteine have been associated with cardiovascular disease. Dietary intervention with a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet has favorably influenced cardiovascular disease and certain food, specifically the consumption of nuts, has been associated with reduced cardiovascular risks. The effects of walnuts, as part of a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet, on serum cardiovascular risk factors were determined. Sixty-seven (67) outpatients with borderline high total cholesterol following a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet for six weeks before being randomly assigned to continue the diet or have 64 grams/day of walnuts in conjunction with the diet. After six weeks, the patients' diets were switched. Therefore, all patients consumed 64 grams/day of walnuts for six weeks during part of the trial as part of a low-fat, low cholesterol diet. Serum lipids demonstrated a significant reduction in triacyglycerols and favorable trend with decreases in total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and a slight increase in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. No statistical effects on homocysteine or the coagulation factors were observed. However, there was a slight favorable trend for tPA and PAI-1. This study demonstrated that walnuts, when consumed as part of a low fat, low-cholesterol diet, have a beneficial effect on serum cardiovascular risk factors. However, these changes may not explain all of the beneficial effects that walnut consumption has on cardiovascular disease.


This 2-month-old boy presented with acute severe tachypnea and a low-grade fever. The initial chest radiograph demonstrated normal pulmonary vascularity and lung volume (inflation) in the right lung. The left lung showed normal volume but was oligemic and appeared hyperlucent. The heart size was normal. A table indicates the differential diagnoses of a hyperlucent lung on chest radiographs in infants. In this case, radionuclide imaging studies included perfusion (Tc-99m MAA) and ventilation (Tc-99m DTPA) lung scans. The studies confirmed a vascular etiology was responsible for the hyperlucent left lung. Echocardiography subsequently identified vegetations on the tricuspid valve as the source of the pulmonary emboli


Abstract Over the last 20 years, developments in injectable dermal fillers have led to a revolution in facial soft-tissue augmentation. The demand for dermal fillers for facial soft-tissue augmentation procedures has increased due in part to the less invasive nature of these products compared with surgical procedures. Available options in the United States have expanded from autologous tissues and animal-derived collagens to bacterially fermented biopolymers and synthetic implants. Beyond their physical composition, currently available products are further differentiated by their recommended depth of injection, suitability for different facial areas, and duration of aesthetic improvement. While older dermal fillers rely on the integrity of the injected material to achieve their clinical effects, some newer products are postulated to act by stimulating the patient's own biological and cellular processes. This article examines breakthroughs in facial soft-tissue augmentation that have expanded the palette of options available to physicians.


In this paper we formulate a new structure of spaces which we call it transversal (upper or lower) normed spaces. Combination of algebraic and transversal structures opens up the possibility of studying linear transformation of one transversal normed space into another. This concept of spaces is a natural extension of Banach spaces. Most of our work in this paper centers around forms of three fundamental theorems relating to bounded linear transformations: form of the Hahn-Banach theorem, form of the open mapping theorem and form of the Banach Steinhaus theorem.


Background Although the link between gut microbiota and depression has been suggested, changes of gut microbiota vary largely among individuals with depression. Aims Explore the heterogeneity of microbiota–gut–brain axis and new pathogenic characteristics in murine models of depression. Methods Adolescent female mice were randomly divided into control (CON) group (n=10), chronic unexpected mild stress (CUMS) group (n=15) and dexamethasone (DEX) group (n=15). Mice in the DEX group were gavaged twice a day with 0.2 mg/kg of DEX for 5 weeks, whereas CON mice were given the same amount of solvent. Mice in the CUMS group were exposed to stressors. After behavioural evaluations, all mice were sacrificed for harvesting tissues and blood samples. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was conducted for measuring levels of corticosterone (CORT) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in sera, whereas levels of protein expression in colon and hippocampal tissues were examined by western blot. Faecal microbial communities were analysed by sequencing 16S rDNAs. Results Mice in CUMS and DEX groups exhibited severe depression-like behaviours. Compared with CON mice, CUMS-exposed mice showed a significant increase in both α and β diversity. Prevotellaceae and Desulfovibrio were enriched, whereas Bacilli were decreased in the faeces of mice in the CUMS group. DEX-treated mice had a decrease in the abundance of Clostridium XVIII. Levels of occludin in colon tissue of DEX-treated mice were reduced. Relative to mice in the CON and CUMS groups, DEX-treated mice contained higher serum levels of CORT and IL-1β. Compared with CON mice, mice in the DEX and CUMS groups had higher levels of IL-1β in sera and lower levels of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), Nestin, Synapsin-1 and P2Y12 receptor in the hippocampus. Conclusions Changes of gut microbiota diversity, intestinal integrity and neuroinflammation in the brain contribute to CUMS-induced depression, whereas pathobionts and excessive immunosuppression with damaged neuronal synapses is a basis of the DEX-induced depression.


Background Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) have the potential to improve clinical outcome after hip revision surgery by improving graft incorporation and implant fixation. However, impaction of cancellous bone grafts and TCP/HA bone substitute mixed with OP-1 device in a bone chamber in goats in a previous study led to reduced fibrous tissue ingrowth after 4 weeks. New bone formation was not promoted by OP-1. In the current study we examined whether this reduction represented a final loss of ingrowth or was just a delay, and whether the reduction can be overcome and ultimately results in a better late ingrowth. Methods Bone chambers with impacted allografts and impacted TCP/HA granules mixed with 2 doses of OP-1 device were implanted in proximal medial goat tibias. Impacted allografts and TCP/HA not treated with OP-1 served as controls. After 8 weeks, the incorporation was evaluated using histology and histomorphometry. Results Histology revealed evidence of bone graft incorporation, which proceeded in a similar way in both allografts and TCP/HA, with and without the addition of OP-1. After 8 weeks, no difference in bone ingrowth was found between the OP-1 groups and their controls. It was only in the allografts that the addition of OP-1 resulted in more fibrous tissue ingrowth. Interpretation We conclude that the previously observed delay in fibrous tissue ingrowth can be only partially overcome.


Developer roller of LBP(laser beam printer) cartridge made with magnetic substance and density of magnetic flux was decreased with the elapse of a year. Owing to this reason, quality of printing was decreased with decreasing of magnetic flux. This study investigated about the elapse of a year of magnetic substance and possible about usage of recycling production.


The molecular chaperone heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is required for stability and function of multiple mutated, chimeric, and over-expressed signaling proteins that promote cancer cell growth and/or survival. It is also critical for the function of many normally expressed proteins, including protein kinases, steroid receptors and other transcription factors, and it may protect the cell from incapacitating or deleterious mutations. The recent identification of a nucleotide binding pocket within the first 220 amino acids of the protein, together with the discovery that at least two structurally distinct classes of antibiotic can replace nucleotide at this site and alter chaperone activity, has deservedly focused attention on Hsp90's aminoterminus as an important regulator of function. However, data continue to accumulate pointing to the C-terminal half of the chaperone as an equally important regulator of activity, and small molecules that bind to this portion of Hsp90 have been identified.


We investigate the microscopic mechanism of energy dissipation in the friction force microscope (FFM), which is a modification of the atomic-force microscope for application to friction. Based on ab initio results for the interaction between Pd and graphite, we determine the atomic-scale modulation of the friction force and the corresponding stick-slip motion at the interface during the relative motion between these solids. We propose two idealized versions of the FFM and show that the friction force depends not only on the Pd-graphite interaction potential, but even more critically on the construction parameters of such a microscope.


The filling of the cranial defect is an essential problem in neurosurgery on account of the necessity of brain protection as well as for cosmetic reasons. The aim of this study was to evaluate the direct and distant outcome after polypropylene-polyester Codubix prosthesis implantation. This research was based on the analysis of 41 patients treated surgically in the Department of Neurosurgery at the Jagiellonian University in Cracow between 1995-2004. All patients had the Codubix prosthesis implanted. The implantation was performed either synchronously or after the surgery which caused the cranial defect. Directly after the surgery proper healing of the prosthesis could be observed in all patients. The exception was one patient who died directly after the surgery but the cause of his death was not connected with the prosthesis implantation. Seven patients (17,1%) had the temperature temporarily elevated. Three had haematoma collection in the subgaleal space, one (2,4%) developed meningitis which was successfully treated with antibiotics, one (2,4%) suffered from temporary circulation disturbances of the scalp. The late evaluation was performed with help of a questionnaire to which 30 patients (73,2%) responded. The answer ranged 73,2% (30 patients). In this group 16 patients (53,4%) described the cosmetic effect as very good, 10 patients (33%) as good and 4 (13,3%) as unsatisfactory. The commonest reason for the critical note was the depression of the plate which happened to 3 patients. The other 3 patients complained about inappropriate profile of the plate causing the asymmetry of the cranial vault. Seven patients felt temporary pain in the postoperative scar, in one case the pain was took as the friction between the prosthesis and bone margin. Properly performed implantation of accurate bone prosthesis Codubix is safe and usually brings a good cosmetic effect. Direct complications are transitional and occur in the small percent of cases. Distant examinations show generally good therapeutic results but implanted Codubix requires suitable shape and careful fixation.


Banking institution have a significant contribution to the functioning of the national economy. Through its activities, any banking institution aims to achieve a return in condition  of specific risks. In this article we present the analysis and forecast key indicators of banking profitability. To determine the correlation between banking profitability indicators we used econometric models of multifactor regression. We also used dynamic models to determine the trend and forecast development banking institutions.


Objectives: The aim of this study is to present the clinical, oncological, and functional results of locally aggressive benign bone tumors treated with extended intralesional curettage without the use of adjuvant in a tertiary orthopedic oncology center. Method: A total of 172 patients treated with surgical curettage and high-speed burrs for the diagnosis of aneurysmal bone cyst, giant cell tumor, osteoblastoma, chondroblastoma, and chondromyxoid fibroma were included in the study. Demographic, radiological, and clinical data of the patients were analyzed. Results: One-hundred seventy two patients (101 (59%) female and 71 (41%) male) with a mean age of 23 years (6–84). The mean follow-up period was 48 months (18–108). In the study, a total of 8 (4.6%) patients had postoperative complications, 17 (9.9%) patients had recurrence in the postoperative period. Diameter greater than 5 cm was found to be a risk factor for recurrence (p < 0.004). The probability of developing complications was found to be significantly higher in patients with recurrence (p < 0.001). There was no significant relationship between recurrence and age, tumor type, and tumor stage. Conclusion: Successful treatment results can be obtained with extended surgical curettage, high-speed burr, and cauterization without the use of chemical adjuvants in locally aggressive bone tumors.


Volume integral equation (VIE) and surface integral equation (SIE) based characteristic mode (CM) formulations are investigated in the case of lossy objects. Imperfectly conducting metallic structures modelled with an impedance boundary condition and lossy dielectric bodies are considered. Two types of CM formulations are studied. In the first one, the generalized eigenvalue equation is expressed in terms of the Hermitian parts of the integral operators. In the second one, the weighting operator of the eigenvalue equation is defined so that the eigenvectors form a weighted orthogonal set, weighted with respect to radiated power. The first approach gives real eigensolutions and is found to lead to clustering of the eigenvalues as losses are increased. From these solutions it is difficult to separate contributions of radiated, reactive, and dissipated power. This separation appears naturally in the second approach that gives complex eigensolutions. As applications including lossy materials, CM analyses of a graphene sheet and a plasmonic nanoparticle are presented.


One of the most important social factors directly influencing children's psoriasis treatment rates is known to be their parents' readiness to follow recommendations of a physician. To study parents' attitude to child's treatment. review of medical, social and psychological documentation, surveying of parents and children, attendance, methods to reveal attitude to child's illness (V.Ye. Kagan, I.P. Zhuravleva) of 19 children with severe psoriasis (average age is 11, 5 years). Three options of parents' attitude to child's illness have been revealed: I-st option (5 cases) – high treatment compliance: the adults consistently and accurately comply with the doctor's advice, explain the importance of treatment to the child and focus his/her attention on positive results, teach the child to complete medical regimen, which results in reduction of disease recurrence and increase of remission duration. II-nd option (11 cases) – average treatment compliance: the parents comply with the doctor's advice at disease recurrence, but ignore it at amelioration of signs. The parents don't teach the child to comply to medical regimen and health saving behaviour, which results in increase of disease recurrence and decrease of remission duration. III-d option (3 cases) – poor treatment compliance: the parents violate or adjust the treatment plan, fail to make it a habit for the child to comply with the doctor's recommendations, be mindful and responsible about the recovery of his/her health, which becomes one of social reasons for deterioration of physical health and causes the risk for the child to become an invalid. When choosing the therapeutic approach, determining the individualised plan of patient management and scheduling the patients' visits it is very important to address the parents' attitude to treatment and their readiness to comply with the doctor's recommendations.


Objective: To assess the spectrum of lesions in the sinonasal region diagnosed on FNAC. Study Design: This is a retrospective audit of sinonasal lesions diagnosed on FNAC over a period of 12 years (1998–2009). Results: Out of a total of 79,851 FNACs, 158 (0.2%) were from the sinonasal region. FNAC was non-diagnostic in 20 (12.6%) cases. Infective/inflammatory lesions comprised of 30 (19%) cases including non-specific inflammation (19), fungal infection (7), tuberculosis (2), actinomycosis (1) and filariasis (1). Benign cysts (24; 15.2%) included epidermal inclusion cysts, mucocele and aneurysmal bone cyst. Benign bone tumors (4) comprised of giant cell tumor, fibrous dysplasia, chondroma, and osteoblastoma. Other benign tumors included lipoma (6), hemangioma (5), schwannoma (2), meningioma (1), pleomorphic adenoma (1), sebaceous adenoma (1) and other skin adnexal tumors (3). Malignant epithelial tumors (24; 15.2%) included squamous cell carcinoma (10), basal cell carcinoma (5), poorly differentiated carcinoma (4) and metastatic carcinoma (5). Two cases of chordoma and one case each of dermatofibrosarcoma pertuberance and hemangiopericytoma were seen. Sarcomas included sarcoma, not otherwise specified (4), rhabdomyosarcoma (3), osteosarcoma (2), chondrosarcoma (2), leiomyosarcoma (1), malignant fibrous histiocytoma (1), fibrosarcoma (1) and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (1). There were cases of malignant small round cell tumor (11), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (3), plasmacytoma (2) and malignant melanoma (2). Conclusion: A variety of non-neoplastic and neoplastic conditions can involve the sinonasal region. FNAC is a reliable diagnostic procedure in a good number of cases, especially in the light of clinico-radiological data.


In this paper, a hybrid recommendation architecture for mobile commerce system is presented based on agent and ontology technology. Working flow and components of the architecture are described to explain how system components work together. This architecture is a hybrid algorithm which integrates the results of specific recommendation algorithms. Based on this architecture, a restaurant recommendation system prototype is implemented in an experiment. It shows that the system has a good feature of stabilization and the performance of recommendation could be improved with time going by.


Back ground: The association of serum trace elements like Zinc, Iron, Selenium, and copper has been found in different types of cancer. Many authors observed direct association between micronutrient deficiency and the cancer mortalities. Many of essential trace element are required for growth " play an important role in the suitable biochemistry of the body " and they could also stimulate the growth of tumors. Objectives : Assessment the level of trace element ( Zn, Fe, Se, and Cu ) in serum of patients with bladder cancer. Patients & Methods: Serum samples of (40) male and female patients with bladder cancer and (20) healthy controls were enrolled in this study. Bladder cancer patients were undergo cystoscopy and diagnosed clinically by consultant urologist as newly diagnosed for primary bladder tumor. Tumor characterized by 2 independent pathologists according to the criteria of WHO . Trace element were determined by Automic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Results : Significant increase in serum (Cu) levels and significant decrease in serum (Zn, Fe, and Se) levels in bladder cancer patients when compared with normal group. Conclusion : Low serum ( Zn, Fe, and Se) and high Cu levels in bladder cancer patients when compared with control indicates the role of bladder cancer disorders in trace elements metabolism. Key words: Trace elements, bladder cancer.


This study considers massive multiple-input multiple-output (m-MIMO) schemes employing orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or single-carrier with frequency-domain equalisation (SC-FDE) modulation, concerning an uplink transmission. The authors study the performance and complexity for both conventional zero forcing (ZF) and minimum mean squared error (MMSE) (which require the inversion of channel matrix) and iterative frequency domain equalisation receivers based on equal gain combining (EGC) and maximum ratio combining (MRC) concepts, that do not require matrix inversions. It is shown that, although matrix inversions are generally the more complex operations for relatively balanced systems (i.e. with similar number of transmit and receive antennas), this is not generally true for systems where the channel matrix is `very tall' (i.e. much more receive than transmit antennas), at least in terms of the number of multiplications and sums. This means that the advantage on a reduced complexity of MRC/EGC-based equalisers with respect to ZF/MMSE is, in fact, limited. However, the performance advantages combined with the possibility of parallel receiver implementations, make those techniques particularly interesting for m-MIMO schemes, either employing OFDM or SC-FDE modulations.


Background: Canine vector borne diseases (CVBD) are common in tropical countries where the climate favors arthropods abundance. Comorbidity with one or more CVBD are reported as clinical complication and worsen prognostic. Canine visceral leishmaniosis (CanL) is an endemic zoonotic disease in Brazil caused by Leishmania infantum, with several restrictions to canine treatment and suggestion of reservoirs euthanasia for disease control. Heart worm (HW) is a helminthic disease caused by Dirofilaria immitis infection in dogs. It is a chronic heart disease, which can lead to death by congestive heart failure. Canine ehrlichiosis (CE) is caused by Ehrlichia canis bacterial infection with a zoonotic potential and fatal to dogs in acute and chronic presentations. Exposed the above, this study aims to describe a successful treatment and management of a dog with CanL, CE, and HW comorbidity. Case: A 3-year-old male uncastrated black Labrador dog, weighing 35 kg, was admitted to the veterinary clinic due to immunochromatographic CanL positive test performed by municipal zoonosis control center active surveillance in August 2014. Clinical exam showed a mild shedding, intermittent eye white/yellow discharge and popliteal lymph nodes enlargement. After positive for CanL, veterinary requested more laboratorial exams. IFAT and ELISA were positive for CanL, blood smear showed presence of microfilaria, and bone marrow cytology showed Ehrlichia spp. morulae and microfilaria. Initial treatment prescribed was oral doxycycline, omeprazole, ranitidine, and domperidone for 30 days, and allopurinol and ivermectin until further recommendation. Additionally, repellent collar, repellent spray and vitamin supplement was indicated. After first month, marbofloxacin for 30 days and three doses of immune stimulant protocol were administrated. After three months of treatment, dog still positive for heartworm, ehrlichiosis, and CanL. Doxycycline protocol was repeated. Dog became consistently negative for all pathogens one year later with persistent thrombocytopenia but without clinical signs, ergo allopurinol and ivermectin were discontinued. After four years of follow up, the animal had an acute pancreatitis and died, with unremarkable total blood count and negative for all pathogens. Discussion: CVBD coinfections are commonly reported as worsen prognostic in endemic regions. The pathogens reported here share a host immunomodulation competence. L. infantum and Ehrlichia spp.downregulates Th1 response, whereas D. immitis increase as Th2 profile. The therapeutic protocol was iniciated by staging CanL. Since the patient had clinical signs, allopurinol was prescribed as a well-established drug for CanL. Marbofloxacin was added due to its high safety drug in clinical improvement of infected dogs with and without renal disease and in vitro effectiveness against L. infantum. Domperidone was used to promote Th1 cytokine profile as INF-γ, IL-2, IL-12, and TNF-α. We used an immunostimulant protocol to favor polarization to the Th1 profile comprised by 30 days of domperidone protocol followed by a vaccine and an immunomodulator. Doxycycline was used successfully for Ehrlichia spp. and HE clearance after two treatment courses and one year of ivermectin every 15 days. The animal presented intermittent coughing episodes on the first treatment course, but no medical intervention was needed besides exercise restriction. Our report shows the successful management of one dog with CanL, CE and HE comorbidity. This success was possible due to early detection and good therapeutic choice.Keywords: canine visceral leishmaniosis, coinfection, Dirofilaria immitis, Erhlichia canis, Leishmania infantum, treatment.


Electrical stimulation of the retinal layer inside the eye has been identified as a form of visual prosthesis to restore lost vision in blind patients affected by retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration, through several studies and experiments. While initial clinical experiments using retinal prosthesis have resulted in visual perception in humans, psychophysical tests and simulations suggest that a high-density retinal prosthesis is required to restore vision to a level of reading and mobility. In the implanted prosthetic device, the microstimulator is functionally the closest to the tissue, delivering the electrical stimulation. Choosing the suitable architecture of the microstimulator requires the knowledge of the available choices and the tradeoffs associated with each of them. This paper presents the different architectures of microstimulator for high-density retinal prosthesis considering both the biomedical and circuit perspectives. The choices for the key aspects of the microstimulator-location of the chip in the eye, electrode configuration, method of stimulation, demultiplexing, stimulation sequence, and communication protocol-are discussed along with the associated tradeoffs for each of them. One of the architectures is used in a prototype microstimulator for an implantable epi-retinal prosthetic device to be used in clinical trials. The chip consists of 60 independently programmable output drivers for delivering electrical stimulus and digital controller for managing run-time and configuration data. The circuit details of the chip fabricated in 1.2-/spl mu/m CMOS technology and its measurement results are presented.


Both lidocaine and anoxia inhibit rapid axonal transport. In an attempt to elucidate the mechanism of this action of lidocaine, its effect on mitochondrial respiration was studies. The local anesthetic produces a dose-dependent inhibition of oxygen consumption (50 per cent inhibition at 8mM) by porcine brain mitochondria when glutamate, but not when succinate, serves as the substrate. This indicates electron transport is blocked at the NADH dehydrogenase level. Potent uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation is observed with both substrates. All of the effects are readily reversible upon removal of the anesthetic. It is concluded that lidocaine apparently inhibits rapid axonal transport by depressing oxidative metabolism.


R. Munoz, and J. Llanos. 2012. Estimation of the lifespan of agricultural tractor using a diffusion model at the aggregate level. Cien. Inv. Agr. 39(3): 557-562. The adoption of agricultural tractors by farms has resulted in different combinations, relationships and established ways of production of localities, regions and countries. The dynamics of the tractorization process are defined by the balance of the units that enter the fleet and those that are removed at the end of their useful life. This study uses a diffusion pattern and aggregated adoption of the agricultural tractor, the parameters of which were determined using a nonlinear estimation procedure and country-level data for Chile. Using the predictive power of the model, a longitudinal series of tractor fleets was estimated, and then the balance was calculated considering the units that were discharged. To more accurately determine the average lifespan of a tractor, successive iterations were performed to reduce differences with respect to a control variable for the number of tractors registered. The estimated average lifespan for agricultural tractors at the aggregate level is 22 years. This type of estimation procedure can be used not only for descriptive purposes, as in this case, but also for predictive purposes.


It is widely expected that the core of next-generation cellular networks will be (i) based on software-defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV), and (ii) shared between multiple parties, including traditional mobile operators and content providers. Such parties are normally competing with each other; however, they can obtain significant, mutual benefits even from limited and defined cooperation. We study how such a coopetition relationship influences the decisions of (i) how to place virtual network functions on physical hardware and (ii) how to steer traffic between them. We present an efficient, online algorithm to make such placement and steering decisions, and study its performance in a realistic scenario. We find that our algorithm would allow mobile operators and content providers to reduce their reliance on third-party vendors by 60%.


Taking Second Songhua River as the study area, established the SQL Server-based spatial data warehouse. On this basis, using GIS, statistical data mining, visualized data mining and BP neural network to finish data preprocessing, build water quality assessment forecast model, and analyze spatial distributing of water quality. The results show that it is adapted to manage and analyze the spatial data if water resource was investigated by Spatial Data Mining(SDM), and it is easier to discover deep-seated information and rules from the mass of data; In the central and the southeast part of Second Songhua River, the water qualities are better than other places, most of them are class II or class III; The water qualities are poor in the northwest and the south part of Second Songhua River, they are class IV, class V or below class V; Every single evaluation index of water quality class shows that the changing trend from northwest to southeast are from high to low, and there are some special indexes have the trend of ascending in the southern part; According to comprehensive analyzing of spatial distribution character of Second Songhua River water quality, it has obvious area distribution, the mountainous area in the southern part of drainage basin has better water quality, however, it is poor in the northwest, both natural and human activities have influence on it.


Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) are neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders respectively, with devastating effects not only on the individual but also the society. Collectively, a number of factors contribute to the expression of ASD and AD. It is of utmost curiosity that these disorders express at different stages of life and there is an involvement of certain susceptible genes. This genetic basis makes the background of common associations like memory deficits, cognition changes, demyelination, oxidative stress and inflammation, an integral part of both disorders. Modern technology resulting in genetically modified crops and increase in gadgets emitting electromagnetic frequencies have resulted in enhanced risks for neurological dysfunctions and disorders like ASD and AD. Subsequent advances in the psychological, pharmacological, biochemical and nutritional aspects of the disorders have resulted in the development of newer therapeutic approaches. The common clinical features like language impairment, executive functions, and motor problems have been discussed along with the patho-physiological changes, role of DNA methylation, myelin development, and heavy metals in the expression of these disorders. Psychopharmacological and nutritional approaches towards the reduction and management of risk factors have gained attention from the researchers in recent years. Current major therapies either target the inflammatory pathways or reduce cellular oxidative stress. This contribution focuses on the commonalities of the two disorders.


MIPS is a micro robot with a parallel mechanical architecture having three degrees of freedom (one translation and two orientations) that allow fine positioning of a surgical tool. The purpose of MIPS is to act as an active wrist at the tip of an endoscope and to provide to the surgeon an accurate tool that may furthermore offers a partial force-feedback. The current prototype has a diameter of 7 mm for a length of 2.5 cm and includes all the necessary hardware. We will explain why a parallel architecture has be chosen, the method of optimal design that has been used for determining the dimensions of the robot and present the current prototype.


Background: Aging is believed to be one of the main causes of cardiovascular diseases. The incidence of cardiovascular dysfunctions has increased substantially over the past few years. However, our understanding of molecular mechanisms of age-related vascular disorders remains somehow unclear, and an effective treatment has not been developed. A biological network is a collection of interactions between molecular regulators and their targets in cells governing gene expression level that is usually built by employing omics data, facilitating the inference of molecular basis of complex diseases. Materials and Methods: GSE50833 series containing aorta samples of 6-month-old mice (n = 6) and 20-month-old mice (n = 6) obtained from Janvier labs (Saint Berthevin, France) were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus database and the verified Agilent probe IDs were subjected to build a weighted gene coexpression network by a bioinformatics tool known as Weighted Gene Coexpression Network Analysis. We then conducted a network-driven integrative analysis to find significant modules and underlying pathways. Results: The unique genes extracted from normalized gene expression values were parsed into six modules. Among the incorporated clinical traits, the most significant module was associated with triglycerides enriched in biological terms, including proteolysis, blood circulation, and circulatory system process. Moreover, Enpp5, Fez1, Kif1a, F3, H2-Q7, and Pa × 8 were taken as putative hallmark molecules by further screening. Conclusion: the main goal of this analysis was the prioritization of genes that likely play a role in the pathogenesis of vascular diseases. We attempted to provide a system understanding of the potential connections among these genes.


The typical duration of multimedia streams makes wireless network interface (WNIC) energy consumption a particularly acute problem for mobile clients. In this work, we explore ways to transmit data packets in a predictable fashion; allowing the clients to transition the WNIC to a lower power consuming sleep state. First, we show the limitations of IEEE 802.11 power saving mode for isochronous multimedia streams. Without an understanding of the stream requirements, they do not offer any energy savings for multimedia streams over 56 kbps. The potential energy savings is also affected by multiple clients sharing the same access point. On the other hand, an application-specific server side traffic shaping mechanism can offer good energy saving for all the stream formats without any data loss. We show that the mechanism can save up to 83% of the energy required for receiving data. The technique offers similar savings for multiple clients sharing the same wireless access point. For high fidelity streams, media players react to these added delays by lowering the stream fidelity. We propose that future media players should offer configurable settings for recognizing such energy-aware packet delay mechanisms.


Author statement JD proposed the model, JD and RR wrote the code and performed the analysis, JD wrote the first draft of the manuscript, and all authors contributed substantially to revisions. Abstract Methods for modeling species, distributions in nature are typically evaluated empirically with respect to data from observations of species occurrence and, occasionally, absence at surveyed locations. Such models are relatively "theory-free". In contrast, theories for explaining species, distributions draw on concepts like fitness, niche, and environmental suitability. This paper proposes that environmental suitability be defined as the conditional probability of occurrence of a species given the state of the environment at a location. Any quantity that is proportional to this probability is a measure of relative suitability and the support of this probability is the niche. This formulation suggests new methods for presence-background modeling of species distributions that unify statistical methodology with the conceptual framework of niche theory. One method, the plug-and-play approach, is introduced for the first time. Variations on the plug-and-play approach were studied with respect to their numerical performance on 106 species from an exhaustively sampled presence/absence survey of vegetation in the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland. Additionally, we looked at the robustness of these methods to the presence of irrelevant information and sample size. Although irrelevant variables eroded the predictive performance of all methods, these methods were found to be both numerically and statistically robust.


This dissertation is concerned with a fundamental problem at the heart of Arendt's The Human Condition—namely, 'the problem of idleness'. This problem is related to the three types of human Arendt identifies as correlated to dominant activities in one's life, animal laborans, homo faber, and the acting person. It explores Arendt's predictions of an oncoming automation crisis, and the possibility of a corresponding crisis in the production—consumption cycle. The problem of idleness can be understood as the claim that if people are provided freedom from job-holding so that they may pursue other activities, they would likely turn to consumption to occupy their time. I claim that this problem of idleness is important in any consideration of an oncoming automation crisis, especially in relation to Universal Basic Income (UBI) as a solution to such a crisis. I claim that there is a hole in the UBI literature concerning this problem of idleness, and if left unaddressed it would result in both an ineffective UBI, and in a crisis of meaning for the general populace. This dissertation demonstrates what the problem of idleness is, why it is important, and what possible solutions exist. This contributes to the UBI literature by diagnosing and attempting to solve a gap in the literature which I argue would cause practical challenges in the implementation and stability of a UBI system. I also contribute to the Arendtian literature by problematizing traditional readings of Arendt, and offering a reappraisal of her thought on Marx, art, and the social.


This thesis presents several results relating to star sets and star complements of graphs. While a method for calculating star sets and star complements involving projection matrices has been known since their introduction, a second method involving determinants is demonstrated and shown to be equivalent to the first method. Some of the theory for star sets and star complements is expanded to general diagonalizable matrices, regardless of symmetry. The concept of preserving star sets between two general matrices is introduced and shown to be an equivalence relation, and attempts are made to classify what types of matrices can preserve the star sets of a general matrix. Finally, we determine some results for general matrices that occur when star set preservation overlaps with other equivalence relations.


Reducing poverty remains an important challenge, and the COVID-19-crisis may further reinforce social vulnerabilities. Although it has declined lately, relative poverty remains high in international comparison and is distributed unevenly across population groups with the elderly, people with disabilities, lone parents, the low-educated and the unemployed being particularly affected. A comprehensive approach is required to ensure an effective transition out of poverty and social exclusion. Reforms should strengthen income protection by ensuring that cash benefits provide adequate and tailored support to those in need. An individual-based approach is also essential for the provision of social services to reduce deficits in important areas such as social housing and long-term care for the elderly. Equity in educational opportunity and outcomes could be strengthened further, starting at the early school years, as not all children benefit from early childhood education and care services. Progress in this domain is also crucial for striking a better work-family balance and improving work incentives. More and better quality jobs in the formal sector, especially for the low-skilled, are crucial for reducing poverty. Enlarged participation in life-long learning programmes can help re-skilling and up-skilling towards higher incomes. Increased spending on well-designed labour market activation policies is also important for tackling poverty effectively.


Computational burden is a major hurdle for practical implementation of finite-state predictive torque control (FS-PTC) of motor drive fed by a multilevel inverter. One of the reasons of computational complexity is that all voltage vectors are evaluated for prediction and actuation. This paper proposes a reduced number of voltage vectors for the prediction and actuation, which are called prediction vectors in FS-PTC. The performance is investigated for a three-level neutral-point clamped inverter fed motor drive in terms of torque and flux response, stator current total harmonic distortion, robustness, average switching frequency, and neutral-point voltage variation. The number of prediction vectors is reduced based on the position of stator flux and the deviation in stator flux from its reference. Experimental results confirm that the computational burden could be reduced by 38%, while the dynamic performance is comparable with the conventional all voltage vectors based FS-PTC.


Level of detail (LOD) selection method is a key component in complex scene rendering and is widely used in time-critical systems. Many studies focus their efforts on developing the LOD selection method to deal with the problem which the scene contains small objects or objects with a single type. This paper gives a LOD selection method handling the situation that the scene contains multi-type objects while the data amount of these objects change dramatically. The preprocessing step of our work is using the extreme simplification way to simplify the objects with large number of primitives and using the quadric error metrics to simplify the small ones. Then we calculate the span of level changed to each type of object separately. In runtime, we organize all the objects into a max heap by using the importance factor for rendering. We get the top element of the heap and change its level until the total data of objects satisfy the condition of time-critical method. Compared to existing solutions, our method is more suitable to the situation when the scene contains different type of objects.


This paper presents an overview of the development of a reliable bearing system for a new line of small turbochargers where the bearing system has to be compatible with a new compressor and turbine design.The first part demonstrates how the increased weight of the turbine, due to a 40 % increase in flow capacity, influences the dynamic stability of the rotor-bearing system.The second part shows how stability can be improved by optimizing important floating ring parameters and by applying different bearing designs, such as profiled bore bearings supported on squeeze film dampers.Test results and stability analyses are included as well as the criteria which led to the decision to choose a squeeze film backed symmetrical 3-lobe bearing for this new turbocharger design.Copyright © 1987 by ASME


A 38‐year‐old female was found to have severe mitral stenosis, severe pulmonary arterial hypertension with moderate tricuspid regurgitation, dilated right atrium, persistent left superior vena cava, and hugely dilated coronary sinus. The scheduled balloon mitral valvotomy via trans‐femoral approach was abandoned after the venogram revealed the presence of left‐sided inferior vena cava with hemi‐azygos continuation draining into coronary sinus via left‐sided superior vena cava. Balloon mitral valvotomy was attempted from the right trans‐jugular route, but we were unable to puncture the inter‐atrial septum due to the hugely dilated coronary sinus and right atrium. A transhepatic approach was used and balloon mitral valvotomy was successfully done with a standard balloon of 24 mm size without any complication. In patients with inferior vena cava anomalies or interruption, a percutaneous transhepatic approach is a feasible alternative for performing balloon mitral valvotomy.


Following a subplantar injection of 5.0 mg of kaolin in rats, the time curve of the developing edema volume is biphasic over the first 7 hr. There is a rapid rise initially which diminishes in 1 hr, and a second phase which accelerates sharply from the 4th through the 7th hr. A reduction of the dose of kaolin to 0.20 mg eliminated the second phase but did not change the first phase volume. Additional evidence for the independent character of the two phases was garnered from drug inhibition studies. Hydrocortisone and corticosterone were inactive against the first phase but very potent inhibitors of the second. The corticoid-insensitive phase represented approximately 40% of the 5-hr edema volume and, therefore, an inhibition of 60% was the maximum that could be achieved in this time interval with these hormones. Restricting the edema-inhibition studies with the adrenal corticoids solely to their effect on the second phase resulted in a more sensitive test and a steeper dose-response curve. Acetylsalicylic acid was equipotent against the two phases. Phenylbutazone was more potent against the second phase than against the first. In studies restricted to the second phase, the dose-response curve to phenylbutazone from 10 to 40 mg/kg was steep. At doses larger than 40 mg/kg the response was not dosedependent.


A microscopic-scattering particle model is described that combines a 2-dimensional spatial representation of the fields with a 2-band Monte Carlo description of the scattering events. A simplified scattering law produces a particle model for the diffusion approximation. Results are shown for Si and GaAs f.e.t.s and a GaAs diode.


Introduction To sustainably provide good quality care to increasing numbers of people living with HIV (PLHIV) receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) in resource-limited settings, care delivery must shift from a "one-size-fits-all" approach to differentiated service delivery models. Such models should reallocate resources from PLHIV who are doing well to groups of PLHIV who may need more attention, such as those with treatment failure. The VIral load Triggered ART care Lesotho (VITAL) trial assesses a viral load (VL)-, participant's preference-informed, electronic health (eHealth)-supported, automated differentiated service delivery model (VITAL model). With VITAL, we aim to assess if the VITAL model is at least non-inferior to the standard of care in the proportion of participants engaged in care with viral suppression at 24 months follow-up and if it is cost-saving. Methods The VITAL trial is a pragmatic, multicenter, cluster-randomized, non-blinded, non-inferiority trial with 1:1 allocation conducted at 18 nurse-led, rural health facilities in two districts of northern Lesotho, enrolling adult PLHIV taking ART. In intervention clinics, providers are trained to implement the VITAL model and are guided by a clinical decision support tool, the VITALapp. VITAL differentiates care according to VL results, clinical characteristics, sub-population and participants' and health care providers' preferences. Expected outcomes Evidence on the effect of differentiated service delivery for PLHIV on treatment outcomes is still limited. This pragmatic cluster-randomized trial will assess if the VITAL model is at least non-inferior to the standard of care and if it is cost saving. Trial registration The study has been registered with clinicaltrials.gov (Registration number NCT04527874; August 27, 2020).


Misdemeanors matter. Whether they end in high-profile police shootings, or in fines, fees, and jail, misdemeanors amount to more than the minor inconveniences they are often made out to be. As Professor Alexandra Natapoff argues in Punishment Without Crime: How Our Massive Misdemeanor System Traps the Innocent and Makes America More Unequal, the current system for adjudicating misdemeanors looks more like a criminal processing system meant to generate revenue than a criminal justice system meant to generate fairness. Professor Natapoff makes important, trenchant and timely contributions to the national conversation about the country's misdemeanor processing system. She provides the most comprehensive mapping of the scope of the country's misdemeanor system to date, putting its contours at a massive 13 million cases processed across the country each year. She exposes the pretexts that allow the misdemeanor system to flourish: 1) misdemeanor proceedings are fair; 2) innocent people do not plead guilty; and 3) the punishment from misdemeanors is minor. And, she offers a range of solutions to begin to transform the misdemeanor system into a more just version of itself. This review discusses each of these major contributions in turn, and concludes with suggestions for reform based on Professor Natapoff's research.


We report measurements of the absolute cross sections for the electron‐impact ionization of SO2 from threshold to 200 eV. Absolute cross sections for the formation of the SO+2 parent ions and of the SO+, S+, O+, and O+2 fragment ions were obtained independently in two different laboratories using two different experimental techniques with uncertainties ranging from ±18% to ±25%. The level of agreement between the absolute cross sections (at 70 eV) obtained by the two techniques ranges from about 10% for SO+2 and SO+ to 20% for (S++O+2) and O+, which in all cases is well within the combined error margins of the two measurements. The high resolution capability of the mass spectrometer employed in one experiment enabled the separation of the S+ and O+2 fragment ions, which are separated by only 0.017 76 atomic mass units (amu), for the first time. The single positive ion formation is the dominant process for all observed product ions. The total single SO2 ionization cross section obtained by the two techniqu...


In this paper new types of aggregation operators, namely absorbing norms and parametric type of operator families called distance-based or evolutionary operators are introduced. Absorbing-norms are commutative, associative binary operators having an absorbing element from the unit interval. The detailed discussion of properties and structure of these operators are given in the paper. Two types of distance-based operators are defined. The maximum and minimum distance operators with respect to e have the value of the element, which is farther, or nearer to e, respectively, where e is an arbitrary element of the unit interval [0,1]. The special cases e=0 and e=1 lead to the max and min operators. The new operators are evolutionary types in the sense that if e is increasing starting from zero till e=1 the min operator is developing into the max operator, while on the other side the max is transformed into the min operator. It is shown that the evolutionary operators can be constructed by means of min and max operators, which are also special cases of the operators. The maximum distance operators are special operators called uninorms and the minimum distance ones are absorbing-norms, introduced in this paper.


2013 was the year of transcatheter heart valve interventions. Not least because of the 2012 European guidelines on the management of valvular heart disease (VHD), the multidisciplinary heart team approach became an established concept. Decision-making, when a patient is too 'sick' for surgery and too 'healthy' for catheter-based interventions, is complex, since VHD is often seen at an older age and, as a consequence, there is a higher frequency of co-morbidity and frailty. However, before TAVI and other transcatheter heart valve interventions can be expanded to intermediate-risk patients, evidence in favour of this less invasive treatment has to be provided by upcoming randomized clinical trials.


Purpose: This Maintenance of Certification activity was designed to help address gaps in osteoporosis management, provide practice improvement based on recognized models, and evaluate the impact of the initiative. Methods: The program comprised 3 stages: stage A, practice self-assessment and chart review; stage B, an intervention to address at least 1 problem; and stage C, additional chart review (new patients). Data from stages A and C were compared to evaluate the impact of the activity. Results: Of 217 registrants, 62 completed the program, reviewing 2107 and 1814 charts in stages A and C, respectively. Statistically significant improvements occurred in all quality attributes from stage A to stage C in 6 specified domains, except for the proportion of patients with an osteoporosis diagnosis. Conclusions: Results of this activity support the benefit of performance improvement initiatives and are consistent with other reports.


Amyloid fibrils are polymers composed of proteins in beta-sheet conformation, which are found in at least 20 diseases for which no cure is available. These diseases include Alzheimer's disease and spongiform encephalopathies, in which the amyloid beta-peptide and the prion protein (PrP), respectively, form amyloid. All fibrils are morphologically very similar although the native structures of the corresponding proteins are widely different. Proteins that are not known to form fibrils in vivo can do so under conditions where unfolding intermediates are well populated. This indicates that fibril formation can arise from most, if not all, polypeptide chains under certain conditions, and that nature has found ways to avoid fibrillogenic protein conformations. In support of this, it was recently found that unpaired beta-strands present in native proteins are prevented from forming intermolecular beta-sheets, by strategic placement of prolines and charged residues for example. Structural studies of the lung surfactant-associated protein C (SP-C) have revealed determinants for amyloid fibril formation. The poly-valine alpha-helix of SP-C spontaneously converts to beta-sheet aggregates in vitro and SP-C amyloid fibrils are found in pulmonary alveolar proteinosis. A beta, PrP, and SP-C harbour an alpha-helix which is strongly predicted to form a beta-strand, and in all cases investigated so far such alpha-helix/beta-sheet discordance correlates with the ability to form beta-sheet aggregates and fibrils.


Due to a lack of modern analogues, debate surrounds the importance of tides in ancient epi‐continental seas. However, numerical modelling can provide a quantitative means of investigating palaeo‐tidality without recourse to analogues. Finite element modelling of the European Upper Carboniferous epi‐continental seaway predicts an exceedingly low Lunar tidal range (ca 5 cm in the open water regions of the UK and Southern North Sea). The Imperial College Ocean Model (ICOM) uses finite element methods and an unstructured tetrahedral mesh that is computationally very efficient. The accuracy and sensitivity of ICOM tidal range predictions were tested using bathymetric data from the present‐day Mediterranean Sea. The Mediterranean Sea is micro‐tidal and varies in depth up to 5·4 km with an average depth of 1–2 km. ICOM accurately predicts the tidal range given both a realistic, but smoothed, bathymetry and a straight sided basin with a uniform depth of 1 km. Variation in uniform depth from 100 to 3000 m with and without islands consistently predicts micro‐tidality, demonstrating that the model is robust and the effect of bathymetric uncertainty on model output is relatively small. The extremely low tidal range predicted for the European Upper Carboniferous is thus deemed robust. Putative Upper Carboniferous tidal deposits have been described in the UK and southern North Sea, but are represented by cyclic rhythmites and are limited to palaeo‐estuaries. Calculations based on an embayed coast model show that the tidal range could have been amplified to ca 1 m in estuaries and that this is sufficient to form cyclic rhythmites. Without tidal mixing, the tropical equatorial heat and salinity enhancement would promote stratification in the open water body. The introduction of organic matter probably caused anoxia, biotic mortality and carbon accumulation, as evidenced by numerous black 'marine‐band' shales.


Dynamic balance performances are highly affected by the base of support, the center of gravity and its projection within the base of support. Although anthropometric characteristics could be expected to affect dynamic balance performances1, there is a need to substantiate this relationship. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between anthropometric measurements and dynamic balance performances. After signing an informed consent, 26 (female, n=14; male, n=12) college students (25.7±3.4years) were involved in the study. Body mass, height, sitting height, and foot size were measured, whereas lower limbs length was calculated as the difference between standing and sitting height. Dynamic balance performance was assessed on a wobble board (Balance Board WSP, GSJ Service, Rome, Italy; diameter=40cm) as the time spent in the target zone (diameter=6.3cm) displayed on a screen. Participants were asked to stand barefoot on the wobble board with a comfortable double leg stance, keeping their hands on the hip and looking at the screen (displaying performance in real time). After a 3-minute familiarization, three 30-second trials were performed with one minute sitting recovery in between. A correlation analysis (p<0.05) was applied to anthropometrics and balance performances (the best score out of three trials). Time in the target zone (12.7±5.9s) was significantly related to weight (63.8±12.6kg; r=-0.46, p=0.02) and foot size (25.3±1.5cm; r=-0.42, p=0.03), whereas no significant correlation emerged with respect to height (167.0±10.3cm) and lower limbs length (79.6±6.7cm). Therefore, individual anthropometric characteristics should be considered when evaluating dynamic balance performances. Further studies are needed to investigate the relationship between anthropometric characteristics and the length and area of sways, and lateral movements of the center of mass.


Objectives: This study aims to investigate the relationship between dysphonia severity index (DSI), speech disease and voice severity of Parkinson disease (PD) patients. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study, carried out on 45 randomly selected PD patients with the age range of 50 to 75 years. The Hoehn and Yahr scale (H.Y scale) was employed to measure the severity of PD. To measure the DSI, we required detecting the acoustic features of the voice, such as shimmer (dB), vital capacity (VC), semitone range (STR), and voice onset time (VOT); therefore, the participants were asked to produce the vowel /a/ three times for calculating the variables, i.e., STR, VOT, fundamental frequency (F0), second formant (F2), and shimmer (dB). Their voices were analyzed by the Praat software (version 6.0.23). F0 and F2 were utilized to calculate the STR. The VOT was assessed by analyzing the spectrograph of the syllable /pa/. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to understand the correlation between DSI scores and the stage of PD (Y.H scale); the P value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: A significant relationship was detected between severe DSI and the stage of PD. Meanwhile, the DSI score was statistically significant compared to the scores of the other four groups (P<0.05). Discussion: There was a significant relationship between the severity of voice changes in PD patients by DSI and the stage of their disease. Further studies in this field are needed considering that such information may be of cardinal importance for voice professionals to take early interventions, appropriate to the stage of PD.


BackgroundWater-deficit stress is one of the most important sources of damage to crop production worldwide. Adopting appropriate varieties using soil microorganisms such as arbuscular mycorrhiza(AM) can significantly reduce theadverseeffectsofwater deficiency.This study is aimed to evaluate the role of Funneliformismosseaeon nutrients uptake and some physiological traits of two chamomile varieties namely Bodgold (Bod) and Soroksári(Sor) under water-deficit stress. The pot experiment was performed in a hydroponic system within a completely randomized design considering four replications. Three levels of water-deficit stress (PEG 6000) were taken into account at water potentials of -0.4 and -0.8MPa. The second factor was AM inoculation.ResultsWater-deficit stress significantly reduced the uptake of macro-nutrients (N, P, and K) and micro-nutrients (Fe, Cu, Mn, and Zn) in the shoots and roots. Moreover, the level of osmolytes (total soluble sugars and proline) and the activity of antioxidant enzymes in the shoots of both varieties increased under water-deficit stress. In the case of Sor variety, the level of these compounds was more satisfactory. AM improved plant nutrition uptake and osmolyte contents while enhancing antioxidant enzymes and reducing theadverseeffectsofwater-deficit stress. Under water-deficit stress, the growth and total dry weight improved upon AM inoculation. ConclusionsIn general, inoculation of chamomile with AM balanced the uptake of nutrients increased the level of osmolytes, antioxidant enzymes, and hence improved plant characteristics under water-deficit stress in both varieties, however, it was more effective in reducing stress damages in Sor variety.


The most important function of blood is gas transport. In the attempt to replace this function, two lines of investigation were followed. Gas transport using of hemoglobin involves saturable physicochemical mechanisms. The affinity of human "stroma-free" hemoglobin for oxygen is too high, hampering the release of oxygen in tissue. The binding of oxygen to stroma-free hemoglobin can be improved by coupling of hemoglobin to pyridoxal phosphate. By cross-linking with, for example, dialdehydes (particularly glutaraldehyde) the production of hemoglobin molecules of higher molecular weight and greater stability is possible. However, first trials in humans using these preparations fall short of expectations. The stability of the polymers and of the preparations was not as good as expected. Another possibility is the use of water-insoluble fluorocarbons (perfluorocarbons), which have a high capacity for physical gas transport. The disadvantage of using emulsions of these substances is the necessity for high partial oxygen pressure to attain sufficient gas transport. The complete insolubility in water impedes the use of the metabolic inert fluorocarbons, because they can only be eliminated via the lungs. Despite these problems the fluorocarbons have been extensively used in humans. In the USA the use of some emulsions is allowed for special indications. Extended clinical use of fluorocarbons and of hemoglobin derivates cannot be expected in the near future. Substitution of the blood hydrocolloid albumin has been practiced for many years, synthetic hydrocolloids being used to replace the colloid osmotic pressure of albumin and also to decrease the blood viscosity by hemodilution and hence improve flow. In Germany hydroxyethyl starch (HES) is the most-used hydrocolloid with the least side effects. Anaphylactic reactions restrict the use of dextran, and gelatin derivatives, because of their short half-life, are not of clinical importance in Germany. Hydrocolloids with a half-life of 3-6 h (dextran 40, middle-substituted HES) are preferred, while those with a half-life of about 20-30 h (dextran 60/70, highly substituted HES) are infrequently used.


Even though there is still room for improvement, recent perceptual image-difference measures show a prediction performance that makes them interesting to be used as objective functions for optimizing image processing algorithms. In this paper, we use a color enhanced modification of the Structural Similarity (SSIM) index for optimizing gamut mapping. An iterative algorithm is proposed that minimizes this measure for a given reference image subject to in-gamut images. Since distortions within remote image regions contribute independently to the measure a descent direction can be specified locally. The step-length is chosen to be a fraction of the just-noticeable-distance ensuring a decrease of the measure. Results show that the proposed approach preserves contrast and structural information of reference images. Some artifacts suggest modifications of the employed image-difference measure.


Scheduling the movements of a hoist in printed circuit board electroplating is known is the hoist scheduling problem (HSP). The objective of the HSP is to find an optimal cyclic sequence of moves for hoists. Results are already available for this problem, using classical operational research tools. They are briefly presented. Most of the proposed solutions are limited to the very specific initial model and are consequently difficult to apply in industrial problems. The constraint logic programming (CLP) approach to the problem is presented. A CLP model of the problem that allows modeling and solving more realistic cases is presented, and the results and the analysis of the solutions are outlined.<<ETX>>