Introduction The King's Sarcoidosis Questionnaire (KSQ) is a recently developed and validated sarcoidosis specific health related quality of life (HRQOL) tool comprising of 5 modules: general HRQOL (10 items), lung (6 items), medication/side-effects (3 items), skin (4 items), and eye (7 items). We set out to evaluate HRQOL in a large group of patients with wide ranging sarcoidosis and determine the factors that influence it. Methods 207 patients with sarcoidosis (89% lung, 26% skin, 22% eye, 29% other organ involvement) attending outpatient clinics at King's College and Royal Brompton Hospitals completed the KSQ. KSQ domain scores range from 0 to 100, a higher score representing a better HRQOL. Demographic data, immunosuppressant medication, organ involvement, lung function, Scadding CXR stage, physicians global assessment (PGA) of severity of skin disease and visual acuity (VA) were recorded. Results Patients had a mean (SEM) age 48 (11) years, 54% were female and 30% were Afro-Caribbean. Patients had a mean (SEM) FEV1 80 (23)% predicted, FVC 94 (19)% predicted and TLCO % predicted 66 (17). HRQOL was impaired in all domains, mean (SEM) scores: general HRQOL 51 (2), lung 61 (2), medication/side-effects 49 (3), skin 54 (4), and eye 50 (4). Patients with 2 or more organ involvement compared to single organ involvement had worse general HRQOL (44 (3) vs 58 (3); p<0.01) and worse medication/side-effects scores (44 (3) vs 58 (3); p=0.04). Female patients compared to males had worse general HRQOL (45 (3) vs 57 (3); p<0.01) and medication/side-effects scores (41 (3) vs 58 (4); p<0.01). There were no associations between HRQOL and age (r=−0.02 to 0.13) or ethnicity (p=0.42). There was a weak but significant relationship between lung HRQOL and FEV1 (r=0.38, p<0.01), FVC (r=0.38, p<0.01) and TLCO % predicted (r=0.22, p<0.01). Patients with Scadding CXR stage 3–4 disease compared to stage 0–2 disease had significantly worse lung HRQOL (51 (4) vs 63 (3); p=0.02). Skin health was associated with physician's global assessment (PGA) of severity of skin disease (r=0.51, p<0.01). Eye health was associated with VA (r=−0.56, p<0.01). Patients taking immunosuppressant medication for sarcoidosis compared to those not taking immunosuppresants had significantly worse general HRQOL (45 (2) vs 66 (4); p<0.01) and lung HRQOL scores (58 (3) vs 70 (4); p=0.01). Conclusions HRQOL is impaired in sarcoidosis. Gender, immunosuppressant medication, multi-system organ involvement and severity of lung function impact on HRQOL. This study provides further clinical validation of the KSQ.


Sensor network computing can be characterized as resourceconstrained distributed computing using unreliable, low bandwidth com munication. This combination of characteristics poses signific ant software development and maintenance challenges. Effective an d fficient debugging tools for sensor network are thus critical. Existent development tools, such as TOSSIM, EmStar, ATEMU and Avrora , provide useful debugging support, but not with the fidelity, scale and functionality that we believe are sufficient to meet the n e ds of the next generation of applications. In this paper, we propose a debugger, called S DB, based on a distributed full system sensor network simulator with high fidelity and scalable performance, DiSenS. By exploiting the potent ial of DiSenS as a scalable full system simulator, S DB extends conventional debugging methods by adding novel device level, prog ram source level, group level, and network level debugging abst r ctions. The performance evaluation shows that all these debugging f eatures introduce overhead that is generally less than 10% into the simulator and thus making S DB an efficient and effective debugging tool for sensor networks.


Abstract. Biological invasions are among the major global causes of biodiversity loss. The pet trade is the main pathway by which reptiles are introduced into new environments. After the EU import ban on the pond slider (Trachemys scripta), other species of pet-traded freshwater turtles are more often reported from the wild. Here we report the first and genetically verified record of Chinese soft-shelled turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis) from the eastern part of the Czech Republic. The genus Pelodiscus has been reported from the Czech Republic and neighbouring countries; however, only as a visual record, which is insufficient for identification due to the complexity of the taxonomic status of this species. We physically captured the turtle and used genetic data (sequences of 16S rRNA and cytochrome b) to confirm the species affiliation as P. sinsensis. The studied individual represents a lineage of P. sinensis that is widely bred on farms with a native range in North Vietnam, South and south-east China.


The COVID-19 outbreak offered a unique opportunity to capture the experiences of front-line practitioners during substantial and rapid changes to their daily work, including workplace policy, protocols, environment and culture, as well as changes to their overall professional role in the healthcare system. Our team of paramedic researchers collected data throughout the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak, exploring the lived experiences from a paramedic viewpoint. This article will discuss impactful approaches to leadership in paramedicine - differentiating between successful and failed strategies to leading and supporting teams amid rapid change on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19.


Growth and Production of Shallot (Allium ascalonicum L.) to the Application of Biofertilizer in theVariety of Plants Media. The objective of this research was to know growth and production ofshallot (Allium ascalonicum L.) to the application of biofertilizer in the variety of plants media, itwas conducted at Tanjung Selamat, Sunggal, Medan with altitude ± 25 meter above the surface ofsea, began January until April 2012, by using a Randomized Block Design with two factors. Firstfactor was plants media consist of four level : M1 (Ultisol : Sand (2:1)), M2 (Vermicompost : Sand(2:1)), M3 (Ultisol : Vermicompost : Sand (2:1:1)), M4 (Ultisol : Vermicompost : Sand (2:2:1))and the second factor is biofertilizer consist of three level, K1 (100 KG/HA), K2 (200 KG/ha), K3(300 kg/ha). The parameter observed were plant height, tiller number, leaf number, fresh weightbulb per sample, fresh weight bulb per plot, dry weight bulb per sample, dry weight bulb perplot,and clove number per sample. The result showed that plants media treatments influentialsignificantly to parameters : plant height 4-7 week after plant,tiller number 6-7 week after plant,leaf number 3-7 week after plant, fresh weight bulb per sample, fresh weight bulb per plot, and wasnot significantly to parameter plant height 2-3 week after plant, tiller number 2-5 week after plant,leaf number 2 week after plant and clove number per sample. The aplication of biofertilizer andinteraction of plant media and biofertilizer was not significantly to all parameter.Keywords : biofertilizer, plants media, shallot


This article starts from the different typologies in agreement described by [Nichols 1986] concerning the relationship between head and dependent(s). She discovered that four types are possible: head-marking, dependent-marking, double marking and zero marking. Although Nichols analyses this relationship within the NP and also within the sentence, in this article we will examine this feature only as far as NP is concerned. Moreover, we will consider a small group of languages, which are all genetically related: the Indo-European family. In fact, despite their common origin and the fact that they all show a dependent-marking type, these languages organize their strategies in agreement in different ways. For instance in Hittite, inanimate nouns (like  watar ) agree with an adjective declined in inanimate gender (i.e.  suppi ) only if they are subjects of intransitive verbs. If theyare subjects of transitive verbs, the nouns take another ending (- anza ) and agree with an adjective in animate gender (like  suppis ). We shall avoid discussing questions concerning the alignment of Hittite: our aim is only to consider that such a syntactical feature plays an important role in agreement between head and dependent in Hittite and in other Anatolian languages, but it doesn't appear in the other Indo-European languages. On the other hand, Latin doesn't distinguish masculine from feminine gender morphologically : we can find statistical tendencies, but nominal declensions are pure formal schemes based on phonological criteria. So the first declension offers a large majority of feminine nouns (like  rosa ), but it also includes a small number of masculine nouns (like agricola): we shall be able to discern the gender information only in a NP, thanks to information carried by the adjectival/pronominal dependent (for instance  bonus agricola ). However, not all adjectives have separate forms for masculine and feminine. Greek has more or less the same structure as Latin, but in the first declension there is a case where a subtype is introduced in order to distinguish the masculine gender morphologically: so we find nominatives in - ā , - ē  for feminine, whereas the masculine has - ās , - ēs . These few examples show that these languages take into account different features in order to constitute agreement classes. It is a first step to an analysis of this syntactical feature in other representative languages of the Indo-European family. KEYWORDS: nominal heads, head/dependent relationship, agreement, Hittite, Latin


The c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) regulates various important physiological processes. Although the JNK pathway has been under intense investigation for over 20 yr, its complexity is still perplexing, with multiple protein partners underlying the diversity of its activity. We show that JNK is associated with the basal bodies in both primary and motile cilia. Loss of JNK disrupts basal body migration and docking and leads to severe ciliogenesis defects. JNK's involvement in ciliogenesis stems from a dual role in the regulation of the actin networks of multiciliated cells (MCCs) and the establishment of the intraflagellar transport-B core complex. JNK signaling is also critical for the maintenance of the actin networks and ciliary function in mature MCCs. JNK is implicated in the development of diabetes, neurodegeneration, and liver disease, all of which have been linked to ciliary dysfunction. Our work uncovers a novel role of JNK in ciliogenesis and ciliary function that could have important implications for JNK's role in the disease.


Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) challenge the widely accepted structure to function paradigm of protein behavior and are associated with important biological functions. These disordered domains are estimated to account for at least 30% of the proteome in eukaryotic genomes and are correlated with signal transduction and gene regulation, as well as certain disorders including some types of cancers, amyloidosis, heart disease, and neurodegenerative disease. While many IDPs perform their functions by folding with a partner protein, a subclass is prone to collapsed states, disordered interactions, and aggregation. We need to obtain a higher understanding of the biophysical attributes—level of structures versus collapse and behavior with water in comparison to sequences and biological traits—to characterize these IDPs and to extrapolate their functions. This project takes on two modes: We are (1) developing methods on a model protein known to form a collapsed state that traps water and (2) evaluating a small library of IDPs with distinct roles in transcription by the method developed. Studying these aggregation‐prone disordered domains is challenging. We utilize fluorescence methods to reach low concentrations, an environmentally‐sensitive fluorophore to evaluate the presence of water, and collisional quenching to follow the flow into the interior of the collapsed domain. Our studies of the control protein κ‐casein demonstrate that water is present in the collapsed state but is not able to freely exchange with the bulk solution. Our experimental library of IDPs were selected from auxin response factors (ARFs) from Arabidopsis thaliana. This family of transcription factors have three distinguishable sections: a DNA‐binding domain, a low complexity middle region, and a structured protein:protein interaction domain. My work is centered on the middle region as it is predicted to be disordered across the family but is distinct in abundance of glutamine depending on function. Transcription activators are consistently higher in glutamine than their repressive counterparts. Our final goal is to further investigate this thought by attaching fluorophores to the cysteines of the protein in order to compare the natural and denatured states across our selected proteins. After cloning select sequences from cDNA, we have optimized expression, purification, and fluorophore labeling of four proteins from both transcription activators and repressors. Our comparisons of these will expand our understanding of the sequence‐dependent biophysical traits in the context of their differing biological roles within the context of auxin response in plants.


Petchienes A-E (1–5), five new meroterpenoids, were isolated from the fruiting bodies of Ganoderma petchii. Their structures, including absolute configurations, were elucidated by means of spectroscopic and computational methods. Compound 4 was isolated as a racemic mixture, which was finally purified by chiral HPLC to yield individual (-) and (+)-antipodes. Biological evaluation showed that compounds 2 and (-)-4 could increase intracellular free calcium concentration at 10 μM in HEK-293 cells.


Unfair trading practices (UTPs) imposed by parties with superior power in the context of a vertical relationship are an issue at the periphery of competition law, private law, and, sometimes, sectoral regulation. For a long time, the mainstream competition law approach has been to relegate such issues to other areas of law and regulation. In the EU, where complaints about the prevalence of such practices in the agricultural and food supply chain have been voiced for decades, the approach of the European Commission has been to pursue a strict separation between competition issues and fair-trading issues. This article questions the reasonableness of such a strict division of labour. Taking the sum of various initiatives undertaken to regulate UTPs in the agri-food supply chain as a case study, it argues that the effect of limiting competition law enforcement on this issue has been counterproductive. The article firstly explains the background of the problem and the issue of UTPs in the agri-food supply chain. Secondly, it maps the various legislative developments which have taken place at the EU Member State level. Thirdly, by referring to Grabosky's (1995) regulatory studies typology of counterproductive regulation, the article focuses attention on some of the perverse side effects which arise when regulation of power imbalances and UTPs occurs at the national level in the context of an integrated market like the EU. In light of the analysis, it expresses doubt that these pitfalls will be fully corrected by Directive 2019/633 on UTPs in the food supply chain. The conclusion is that national legislative developments have not been able to make up for the lack of supra-national enforcement of EU competition law on this issue and have possibly even exacerbated the problem at hand. The article concludes that supranational competition law enforcement can play a key role in addressing the fundamental problems underlying business-to-business unfair trading practices. It argues that this role cannot be played by other instruments in the context of an integrated market with multi-level governance. This article shows that while competition law may not be capable of solving all the problems with UTPs, it remains indispensable in safeguarding the proper functioning of the internal market as well as the interests of consumers and taxpayers.


In this letter we study the quantum scattering problem of one electron by a screw dislocation in the framework of the Katanaev-Volovich theory of defects in solids. We find the scattering amplitude for the problem and demonstrate that the scattering is of Aharonov-Bohm type. We observe Berry's phase in the dynamics of the electrons in the presence of a screw dislocation.


We report field observations of oxygen isotope ((18)O) discrimination during nocturnal foliage respiration ((18)Delta(R)) in branch chambers in two forest ecosystems: a Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.) plantation in Scotland; and a beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forest in Germany. We used observations and modeling to examine the impact of nocturnal stomatal conductance on the (18)O/(16)O (delta(18)O) signatures of foliage gas exchange at night. We found that nocturnal stomatal conductance can influence the delta(18)O signature by affecting: (1) the bidirectional diffusion of CO(2) into and out of the leaf (with isotopic equilibration); and (2) the (18)O enrichment of the foliage water with which the CO(2) equilibrates. Both effects were manifest in high apparent (18)Delta(R) values and enriched delta(18)O signatures of foliage water at night. The effects were more pronounced for Sitka spruce because of its higher nocturnal stomatal conductance and higher specific leaf water content compared to beech. We found that taking the effects of nocturnal stomatal conductance into account may change the sign of the delta(18)O signature of nocturnal foliage respiration, generally thought to decrease the delta(18)O of atmospheric CO(2). We conclude that nocturnal stomatal exchange can have a profound effect on isotopic exchange depending on species and environmental conditions. These effects can be important when using delta(18)O signatures of canopy CO(2) to distinguish foliage and soil respiration, and when modeling the delta(18)O signature of CO(2) exchanged between ecosystems and the atmosphere.


Neuroblastoma is a malignant neoplasm of the developing sympathetic nervous system that is notable for its phenotypic diversity. High-risk patients typically have widely disseminated disease at diagnosis and a poor survival probability, but low-risk patients frequently have localized tumors that are almost always cured with little or no chemotherapy. Our genome-wide association study (GWAS) has identified common variants within FLJ22536, BARD1, and LMO1 as significantly associated with neuroblastoma and more robustly associated with high-risk disease. Here we show that a GWAS focused on low-risk cases identified SNPs within DUSP12 at 1q23.3 (P = 2.07×10−6), DDX4 and IL31RA both at 5q11.2 (P = 2.94×10−6 and 6.54×10−7 respectively), and HSD17B12 at 11p11.2 (P = 4.20×10−7) as being associated with the less aggressive form of the disease. These data demonstrate the importance of robust phenotypic data in GWAS analyses and identify additional susceptibility variants for neuroblastoma.


This paper addresses a relatively simple method of measuring Young's modulus of electroplated nickel using an atomic force microscope. The thin layer of nickel to be measured is electroplated onto the tip side of an AFM silicon cantilever, whose Young's modulus and geometric dimensions are well defined from the manufacturer. The resonant frequency and quality factor of the electroplated AFM cantilever are measured by the tapping mode of the AFM and its spring constant is calculated using Sader's method. The spring constant of the electroplated cantilever is also calculated by using the laminar composite beam theory. Comparing two spring constants, Young's modulus of electroplated nickel is determined. The measured Young's modulus of nickel at the end of each plating step ranged between 148.04 GPa and 159.90 GPa with a relative uncertainty of 4.21%.


The central part of the Albertine Rift and the Lake Kivu area in particular are remarkable from the geological point of view. The convergence of various natural hazards issues is a concern for the socio-economic development but represents also an important challenge for the exploitation of the energetic sources like for instance the Lake Kivu methane and the hydropower of the Rusisi River. The risk mitigation does not only require to monitor, observe, and analyze the present-day manifestation of phenomena such as active volcanism, tectonics, mass movements, lake dynamic, etc. It involves the reconstruction of the history by analyzing the archives, and studying geological and geomorphological evidences that are reflecting the result of the evolution. The Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA) has gained experience in the study of geodynamical processes from different view angles and disciplines. 1) Geomorphology and palaeoseismology are used to identify from satellite, maps, or field observations, recent-to-historical seismic displacements that can be further studied, and sometime dated to estimate their recurrence period(1,2). 2) Geomorphology is also exploited to identify ancient mass movements and their potential relation with tectonic structure (earthquake triggered landslides)(3). 3) In addition to the classical use of remote sensing for land use and geomorphology purposes, advanced techniques such as radar interferometry (InSAR), allowed the detection of regional ground displacements that are associated to the Nyiragongo and Nyamulagira eruptions. 4) Subsequent models are then used to identify the most likely scenario that took place, the depth, size, and extent of the magma intrusions or fractures for example(4,5). Local movements have also been detected as in Gisenyi for example where two linear fault scarps have been reactivated in 2002, inducing damages to many building in town5. 5) Finally, recent petrological and geochemical re-analyses of the famous Sahama-Tazieff reference collections preserved at RMCA have served to reconstructed the liquid and solid lines of descent of the low pressure Nyiragongo differentiation. Today, the RMCA is strongly involved in collaborations oriented towards the above-mentioned disciplines as well as in researches supported by various space agencies (ESA and CSA, ongoing; DLR, pending). As such, and in the perspective of new initiatives dedicated to assess the hazards in the Lake Kivu region, the institute could play its role.


Graduation thesis is the last part of the university education but not the least, and it has a very important role in training high quality talents in the university; it can train students capacity of use knowledge, improve the ability of innovation and so on. The teaching practice of graduation thesis was introduced in this paper, and it put forward a reform of graduation thesis. The method of reform is to take the College of Science, Donghua University as an example.


The chapters contained within this text reflect the value of Systems Thinking in the design and development of Information Technology (IT). Its contents also reflect the growing range and number of contributions that the International Journal of Information Technologies and the Systems Approach (IJITSA) attracts. The chapters cover a diverse range of topics such as Software Engineering, Knowledge Management , Surveillance, and Privacy. Readers will forgive me, I hope, for the rather crude grouping of these fine papers. I have taken the position that this text is devoted to the use of Systems Ideas in the development of Information Technology in its variety of forms. Rather than repeat the editorials for each of the relevant editions, I have instead written an overview of the use of Systems Ideas within the context of particular applications published in IJITSA. To this end, I have divided the book into two sections. The first section is concerned with information provision and the second with security and privacy. The text is composed of papers from the 2010 and 2011 editions of the IJITSA. In general terms, the first section deal with ways of attempting to overcome the difficulties of IT provision through the examination of current design methods and how they can be improved. In some instances, these papers show a distinct move from a technically-based approach to what might be called a soft approach. That is to say one that takes into account the social systems in which IT resides. For this reason, we briefly explore the difference between a computer system (or data processing system) and an Information System (IS). It is important to do so as we reflect the methods of design. The text then moves on to the chapters that address the benefits and the dangers of IT supported security systems. It is here where we consider if technological surveillance, ostensibly there to protect its citizens, might have unwanted effects upon individual privacy and freedom, but first we begin with information technology provision. There are few that would contest the assertion that information is the most important commodity we have. Moreover, it stands to reason that the way in which we design these systems will have a significant impact upon those who use them. Yet over the past decade, there is evidence that large information systems fail. The end-user, or client, is often unconsciously considered by the designer as a component …


The use of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) in combination with human menopausal gonadotrophin (HMG) for ovulation induction has been advocated for the treatment, particularly by in-vitro fertilization (IVF) of various types of infertility. The present study was designed to compare the clinical efficacy of HMG alone with a short protocol of GnRHa/HMG for treatment of unexplained infertility. A total of 91 couples with unexplained infertility were randomly assigned to one of two treatments; either HMG with intra-uterine insemination (IUI) (45 patients, 62 cycles) or GnRHa/HMG with IUI (46 patients, 69 cycles) treatments. Progesterone concentrations on the day of human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) administration were significantly higher in HMG (1.5 +/- 0.9 ng/ml) versus GnRHa/HMG (0.8 +/- 0.6 ng/ml; P < 0.05) cycles. Furthermore, GnRHa suppressed the occurrences of premature luteinization (GnRHa/HMG 5.8% and HMG 24.2% respectively). However, there were no significant differences in HMG dose requirements, plasma oestradiol concentrations or follicular development on the day of HCG administration between the two groups. Nor were any significant differences found in the pregnancy rates between the two treatment protocols (GnRHa/HMG 13.0% and HMG 11.3% respectively). Our results suggest no beneficial effect of GnRHa/HMG compared to HMG alone for the treatment of unexplained infertility, based on pregnancy rates.


Summary: Comparison between 21 2-day-old infant monkeys and 17 21-day-old infants during non-rapid eye movement sleep demonstrated that minute ventilation (V1) increased from 141 ± 30 to 257 ± 65 ml/min secondary to elevations in tidal volume (VT) and mean inspiratory flow (VT/Ti) with little change in respiratory timing. These volumetric parameters of ventilation as well as functional residual capacity remained significantly augmented when standardized for gain in body weight. Dynamic lung compliance increased from 0.69 ± 0.19 to 0.89 ± 0.39 ml/cm H2O with age while inspiratory pulmonary resistance did not change. Effective elastance fell significantly with maturation (5.27 ± 1.51 cm H2O/ml on day 2 versus 4.15 ± 1.35 cm H2O/ml on day 21) while effective impedance was elevated postnatally. The postnatal ventilatory gain (80% increase in V1) was attributable to increases both in dynamic lung compliance (30%) and inspiratory effort (50%) as determined by esophageal pressure changes. Isometric occlusion pressures (P0.1, P0.2 … Pmax) also significantly increased during this time span, suggesting that the increased ventilation resulted from an elevated respiratory drive.


We study the classical and quantal ionization dynamics of a one-dimensional system by strong, low-frequency electric fields with slowly varying envelopes. We show that classical ionization can be described using the principle of adiabatic invariance, if the driving frequency is sufficiently small, and that after ionization the atomic potential does not significantly alter the motion. This dynamical picture suggests that the quantal system ionizes via a sequence of tunnelling events which produce a wavepacket oscillating back and forth across the nucleus to produce high harmonics in the spectrum of radiation emitted by the accelerating electron. We further show that it is the interference between components of this wavepacket which produces both the harmonics of the field and a sharp cut-off in the spectrum, neither of which are present in the classical spectrum.


Introduction: In the information age, data are the most important asset for health organizations. In the case of using data in useful and optimal manner, they can become financial resources for organization. Data mining is an appropriate method to transform this potential value into strategic information. Data mining means extraction of hidden information, recognition of hidden relationships and patterns, and in general, discovery of useful knowledge at high volume. The objective of this review paper was to evaluate using data mining in diagnoses of diseases.
Methods: This research is a review paper conducted based on a structured review of the papers published in Science Direct, Pubmed, Google Scholar, SID, Magiran (between years 2005 and 2015) and books related to using data mining in medical science and using it in diagnose of diseases with related keywords.
Results: Nowadays, data mining is used in many medical science studies, including diagnosis of diseases, discovering the hidden patterns in data, and so on. New ideas such as discovery of Knowledge from Discovery and Data Mining Database, which includes data mining techniques, have found more popularity and they has becomedesired research tool for researchers. Researchers can use them to identify patterns and relationshipsamong great number of variables. Using them, researchers have been able to predict theresults obtained from one disease by using information stores available in databases.
Several studies have indicated that data mining is used widely in diagnosis of diseases based on types of information (medical images, characteristics of patients, and so on), such as tuberculosis, types of cancers, infectious diseases, and diagnosis of anomalies rarely diagnosed by human (spots and particular points within aye, which is the symptom of onset of blindness resulting from diabetes), determining type of behavior with patients, and predicting the success rate of surgical surgeries, determining the success rate of therapeutic methods in coping with incurable diseases, and so on.
Conclusion: One of the most important challenging topics in healthcare is transformation of raw clinical data into meaningful information following continuous generation of great number of data. In current competitive environment, health organizations using technologies such as data mining to improve healthcare quality will achieve success faster. Many of research centers in Iran are faced with large volume of information, which is not analyzed at all or will be time-consuming due to using traditional methods, even in the case of using analysis and converting them to knowledge. In light of using data mining and its implementation, health organizations can transform the data into a powerful and competitive tool and take new steps in preventing, diagnosing, treating, and providing high-quality services for clients.


The Cordilleran Ice sheet covered most of southeastern Alaska during the Last Glacial Interval (LGI: Marine Isotope Stage 2). Ice began to recede from western Alexander Archipelago ~17,000 + 700 yr BP. In this study, pollen analysis and radiocarbon dating of three sediment cores were used to reconstruct, for the first time, the postglacial development of vegetation of the northwestern Alexander Archipelago during the past ~15,240 cal yr. Hummingbird Lake (HL), on southwestern Baranof Island, yielded a sediment core with one of the longest dated records from southeastern Alaska. The earliest part of the HL pollen record (~15,240-14,040 yr BP) indicates that the earliest vegetation was pine (Pinus contorta subsp. contorta) parkland with willows (Salix), heaths (Ericaceae), sedges (Cyperaceae), grasses (Poaceae), herbs and ferns. Starting at ~14,040 yr BP, alder (Alnus) rapidly colonized the area as pine populations declined. By 11,400 yr BP, Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) colonized the area, and soon became the dominant conifer. Mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) also colonized the area by ~11,400 yr BP, followed by western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) at ~10,200 yr BP. By ~9200 yr BP, western hemlock had become the dominant species in the area. During the late Holocene yellow cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis) became established. Two marine sediment cores were also analyzed for pollen, with the oldest core from Lower Sitka Sound, between Kruzof and Baranof Islands. The lower part of the core consists of interlayered tephras and freshwater lake muds that are estimated to be ~14,000 yr BP to 13,150 yr BP. Pollen evidence indicates that the early postglacial vegetation around Sitka Sound was pine parkland with alders and abundant ferns. Damage to vegetation around Sitka Sound by volcanic eruptions is suggested by abrupt, large shifts in percentages of alder and pine pollen, and fern spores in samples adjacent to tephra layers. A marine sediment core from Slocum Arm, a fiord on the western coast of Chichagof Island, has a basal age of ~10,000 yr BP. The pollen record is similar to the Holocene pollen record at Hummingbird Lake.


Surface treatment after dry etching is vital to enhance the surface quality of the material and thus improve device performance. In this Letter, we identified the majority surface states induced by the dry etching of β-Ga2O3 and optimized surface treatments to suppress these electrically active defects with the improved performance of Schottky barrier diodes. Transient spectroscopies suggested that the majority traps (EC-0.75 eV) related to divacancies (VGa-VO) were enhanced in the concentration of 3.37 × 1014 cm-3 by dry etching and reduced to 0.90 × 1014 cm-3 by the combined means of oxygen annealing and piranha solution treatment. The trap evolution is supported by the suppressed donor-acceptor pair radiative recombination related to oxygen vacancies, the improved carrier transport (negligible hysteresis current-voltage and unity ideality factor), and the reduced surface band bending. These findings provide a straightforward strategy to improve surface quality for the further performance improvement of Ga2O3 power diodes.


This study is a literature review on the control and prevention of Tuberculosis, involving both medical treatment and community behaviour. The journal search produced six journal articles from 2018-2020that match the inclusion criteria. Based on the articles that have been reviewed, the data shows that there are several preventive methods that can reduce the incidence of tuberculosis, including increasing clean living habits by practicing the correct ethics of coughing and sneezing, using masks, and opening windows every morning so that ventilation and sunlight can enter into the room.

Keywords: prevention, transmission, tuberculosis


A long standing conjecture of C.Faith in ring theory states that a left self-injective semiprimary ring A is necessarily a quasi-Frobenius ring. We propose a new method for approaching this conjecture, and prove it under some mild conditions; we show that if the simple A-modules are at most countably generated over a subring of the center of A, then the conjecture holds. Also, the conjecture holds for K algebras A over sufficiently large fields, i.e. if the cardinality of K is larger than the dimension of the simple A-modules (or of A/Jac(A)). This effectively proves the conjecture in many situations, and obtains several previously known results on this problem as a consequence.


Report of a case of multicentric reticulohistiocytosis with clinical, histopathologic, histochemical and immunohistochemical study. Neutral mucins and lipids were demonstrated in the cytoplasm of dermal histiocytes. The monocyte-histiocytic nature of the cells was shown by means of acid phosphatase, ATP-ase, muramidase and alpha-1-antitrypsin. Due to the immunohistochemical results, the relationship with Langerhans cells was rejected. No secretory activity of immunoglobulins was shown and the proliferation qualified as benign. The cells among the histiocytic population were typified as mature T lymphocytes.


A bilateral comparison has been undertaken between two European national metrology institutes (NMIs) in the subject field of squareness measurement. Specifically, both NMIs made measurements of a cylindrical squareness standard, made of steel. Both participants made measurements of the internal angles at several positions around the circumference, as well as measurement of the corresponding straightness profiles. The report lists the results obtained by both participants, as well as an analysis of the results and their uncertainties. The results are in good agreement with one another. This bilateral comparison followed the same technical protocol as a previous supplementary comparison (EUROMET.L-S10). Main text. To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. Note that this text is that which appears in Appendix B of the BIPM key comparison database kcdb.bipm.org/. The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by EURAMET, according to the provisions of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA).


Abstract : CyberCIEGE aims to provide an information Assurance (IA) teaching/learning Laboratory in the form of an interactive entertaining commercial-grade PC-based computer game. Each game plays as a single scenario that serves to teach a particular IA concept. However, more synergy can be gained if there is higher-order organization of these scenarios, such as by grouping around a set of desired concepts to be taught or by increasing the complexity of the scenarios built around a common theme. This thesis aims to provide an instructor tool for this purpose. In addition by tapping the CyberCIEGE event log files generated at the end of each game, we can reconstruct the game progress to support After Action Reviews (AAR) to assist the instructor and student to analyze game decisions and the student's progress. This provides a constructive follow-up to review and reinforce the concepts being taught.


- This paper represents Indoor navigation using android device with Bluetooth capabilities to navigate the feasibility of range for indoor positioning. In Indoor navigation system, each android device scans the nearby Bluetooth enabled devices and sends the results to the server. The server collects the scanning results from android devices and fined their location via shortest path algorithms.


The Eley-Rideal recombination reaction of H chemisorbed on the four-fold site of W(001) at a surface temperature T(S) = 500 K is studied using the fully three-dimensional semiclassical collisional model and an accurate potential energy surface for the H-W(001) system. The recombination probability, calculated at different collisional energies in the range (0.05-5) eV, shows a broad maximum around 0.4 for energies between 0.1 eV and 2.5 eV. The exothermic energy partitioning in the final states of the desorbing H(2) molecules shows that, at low impact energies, only the first three vibrational levels of the hydrogen molecule are energetically accessible, while at the higher impact energies vibrational levels up to v = 7 can be populated. The energy exchanged with the phonons surface is small but not negligible.


ABSTRACT The objectives of our study were to examine the sera of rheumatic chorea (RhCh) patients (those with acute or chronic RhCh or with a past history of RhCh) for the presence of antineuronal antibodies (ANeurA) and to correlate the results with disease activity, chronicity, and the number and durations of choreic attacks. Subjects were inpatients of the Pediatric Hospital, Ain Shams University, and outpatients of the Outpatient Pediatric Cardiology Clinic (both in Cairo, Egypt). Forty children with RhCh (mean age, 10.9 years) and 40 healthy controls were tested. An indirect-immunofluorescence technique was used for the detection of ANeurA. ANeurA were present in the sera of 100, 93, and 44% of the patients with acute, chronic, and past histories of RhCh, respectively. A definition of chronic chorea is presented for the first time. None of the control subjects had ANeurA in their sera. The presence of ANeurA correlated with disease activity. A statistically significant increase (P < 0.01) in the prevalence of ANeurA was found for patients with active chorea (acute and chronic) compared with the prevalence in patients with past histories of RhCh (controlled chorea). ANeurA were present in the sera of both patients with acute RhCh and patients with chronic RhCh, yet patients with acute RhCh showed more brightness and cell staining than chronic patients. The severity, number, and duration of each attack were not related to the presence of ANeurA. These results strengthen further the concept of autoimmunity being the basis for the pathogenesis of RhCh. The presence of ANeurA correlated with the activity of RhCh but not with the severity, number, or duration of attacks. Humoral immunity definitely plays a role in RhCh; thus, routine administration of corticosteroids to patients with acute RhCh is suggested to prevent neuron damage and chronicity. The chronicity of chorea is not due to a further increase in ANeurA but is probably due to sensitivity to these antibodies.


High-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) has been proved to decrease the incidence of volutrauma and improve oxygenation and ventilation in severe pulmonary diseases by many investigators with animal studies and clinical reports, particularly in prematurities with severe respiratory distress syndrome. Patients with intractable respiratory failure or air-leak syndrome may be rescued by HFOV. During HFOV small volume, less than dead space, is delivered at high frequencies. Both inspiration and expiration are active. Oxygenation is mainly maintained by mean airway pressure to achieve optimal lung volume. Carbon dioxide elimination is mainly controlled by delivered volume. Mean airway pressure, fraction of inspiratory oxygen and amplitude are the only three items that need frequent adjustments after initial settings. The first two items determine the oxygenation and the last one determines ventilation. Careful monitoring of conditions the patients, discontinuous learning and cooperation of all coworkers are important to use the new therapy. Further studies with long-term follow-up are important to assess its appropriate role in different treatment methods and different degrees of respiratory diseases.


Based on the concept and connotation of regional soft power, combined with the actual situation of the economic and social development in Shandong Province, this paper builds a strong operational regional soft power rating index system. Using the data of the Statistical Yearbook of the 17 cities in Shandong Province in 2008, z-score standardized methods and factor analysis and so on, finally the paper have a comprehensive evaluation and analysis about the status quo of regional soft power of the 17 cities in Shandong Province. Key words: Regional soft power; Evaluation index system; Factor analysis


Simple Summary When we ingest a meal, our intestine secretes hormones that are released into the bloodstream. Amongst these hormones are the incretins hormones which stimulate the release of insulin from the pancreas which is essential for the regulation of in particular postprandial glucose concentrations. In patients with type 2 diabetes, the effect of the incretins is diminished. This is thought to contribute importantly to the pathophysiology of the disease. However, in pharmacological amounts, the incretins may still influence insulin secretion and metabolism. Much research has therefore been devoted to the development of incretin-based therapies for type 2 diabetes. These therapies include compounds that strongly resemble the incretins, hereby stimulating their effects as well as inhibitors of the enzymatic degradation of the hormones, thereby increasing the concentration of incretins in the blood. Both therapeutic approaches have been implemented successfully, but research is still ongoing aimed at the development of further optimized therapies. Abstract Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) are secreted from the gut upon nutrient stimulation and regulate postprandial metabolism. These hormones are known as classical incretin hormones and are responsible for a major part of postprandial insulin release. The incretin effect is severely reduced in patients with type 2 diabetes, but it was discovered that administration of GLP-1 agonists was capable of normalizing glucose control in these patients. Over the last decades, much research has been focused on the development of incretin-based therapies for type 2 diabetes. These therapies include incretin receptor agonists and inhibitors of the incretin-degrading enzyme dipeptidyl peptidase-4. Especially the development of diverse GLP-1 receptor agonists has shown immense success, whereas studies of GIP monotherapy in patients with type 2 diabetes have consistently been disappointing. Interestingly, both GIP-GLP-1 co-agonists and GIP receptor antagonists administered in combination with GLP-1R agonists appear to be efficient with respect to both weight loss and control of diabetes, although the molecular mechanisms behind these effects remain unknown. This review describes our current knowledge of the two incretin hormones and the development of incretin-based therapies for treatment of type 2 diabetes.


We are living at a time of successive crises – the Haiti earthquake, famine in East Africa, the Taliban attack on Kabul, the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the Boxing Day Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina...No sooner does one crisis disappear from the headlines, than another pops up in a different part of the world. Perhaps this is just because we are more aware of crises in faraway places than in the past. The explosion in information and communications technologies has allowed us to receive and indeed experience images and texts not only from the media but from friends and families and indeed anyone with a camera or a mobile and access to the Internet, and, at the same time, to be able to blog, twitter and comment upon what appears to be instant reportage from whatever crisis zone dominates airwaves at that particular moment.


This spirited, first-ever history of public television offers an insider's account of its topsy-turvy, forty-year odyssey. James Day, a founder of San Francisco's KQED and a past president of New York's WNET, chronicles public television's fascinating evolution from its inauspicious roots in the 1950's to its strong, fiercely debated presence in contemporary culture. "The Vanishing Vision" provides a vivid and often amusing behind-the-screens history. Day tells how a program producer, desperate to locate a family willing to live with television cameras for seven months, borrowed a dime - and a suggestion - from a blind date and telephoned the Louds of Santa Barbara. The result was the mesmerizing twelve-hour documentary, "An American Family". Day relates how Big Bird and his friends were created to spice up Sesame Street when test runs showed a flagging interest in the program's 'live-action' segments.And he describes how Frieda Hennock, the first woman appointed to the FCC, overpowered the resistance of her male colleagues to lay the foundation for public television. Along the way, Day identifies the particular forces that have shaped public television. The result, in his view, is a Byzantine bureaucracy kept on a leash by an untrusting Congress, with a fragmented leadership that lacks a clearly defined mission in today's multimedia environment. Public television's 'democratic' structure of over 300 stations stifles boldness and innovation while absorbing money needed for national programming. Day calls for a bold rethinking of public television's mission, advocating a system that is adequately funded and independent of government, one capable of countering commercial television's 'lowest-common-denominator' approach with a full range of substantive programs, comedy as well as culture, entertainment as well as information.


The Australian telecommunications regulatory environment has moved since 1997 from the tentative deregulation of a managed fixed line duopoly (Telstra and Optus) to full deregulation, and then since 2010 back to having a state-owned enterprise (NBN Co) as the monopoly wholesale provider of fixed broadband services. At the same time, the more lightly regulated mobile sector has continued to grow. This article provides an overview of the changing legal and regulatory regime for telecommunications and related services in Australia by charting the changes in regulation from 1901 to the present, and by indicating some of the changes that are still evolving. The article is intended to provide a framework for comparison between regulatory regimes in different jurisdictions, and as the basis for further analysis of the sector.


In this paper, the author has investigated the impact that a heat-pipe heat exchanger (HPHE) has on the energy consumption (kWh) and the peak demand (kW) of an existing air conditioning system. A detailed performance investigation has been carried out by using the climate conditions for St. Louis, Missouri for year round operation of the HVAC system with HPHE. During the summer season, analysis has been conducted without and with indirect evaporative cooling. Economic analysis reveals that a simple retrofit on an existing air-conditioning system can pay for itself in less than a year. Based on this investigation it is recommended that this technology be used by the electric utilities for reducing the peak demand and energy consumption.


"Xiao Zan", which embodied 73 jokes was compiled by 'Zhao Nan Xing'. This article digs out the periphery issues of the jokes spreading and collecting by studying the fields of the edition and style respectively. Then, it based on the role of the intellectual to portray the intellectual's social standing and image.The intellectual, who were regarded as the elites and the moral models owned quite high reputations by the ordinary in the traditional society. However, the intellectual's social image in the jokes was amusing and ironic contrast to the original one. The author formed the intellectual as the leading roles of the jokes by making use of the public suspicion. Namely, the author purposed to destroy the intellectual's professional image and to destruct the seriousness by describing the jokes about the ignorant, poor and bookish intellectual.The author, who is also one of the intellectual, reflects the general viewpoint to emphasize the importance of the intellectual's knowledge. Besides, the intentional squib and tease in the jokes is also the mirror of the self-pity intellectuality.


Production planning for flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) has been studied using different methods, including simulation; queueing networks; and several single-objective mathematical programming techniques. The decision making process for production planning in FMS usually involves multiple conflicting objectives. Thus, goal programming (GP) can be effectively applied to this decision problem. This study discusses the superior aspects of the GP model over other models, when solving the production planning problem for FMS. A GP model is presented and the implementation results of an illustrative problem are analysed.


During the postmortem histopathologic evaluation of eyes from stillborn fetuses we noted the presence of a prominent undescribed corneal pigment in 18 of 55 stillborn fetuses. The corneal pigment was frequently associated with documented meconium-stained amniotic fluid, and in no instance was a stained cornea coupled with recorded clear amniotic fluid. Pigmented corneas came from stillborn fetuses with a longer duration of intrauterine death than nonstained corneas. The pigment stained black with the Fontana-Masson stain, was birefringent, and treatment of tissue sections with 5% potassium permanganate and 5% oxalic acid as well as with saturated alcoholic picric acid solution removed the pigment indicating that it is acid hematin. The most likely cause of the acid hematin-stained corneas was tissue acidity created in utero with prolonged intrauterine death.


This article discusses the efforts made by conservatives in the US circuit court against the rights of women to choose. Chief Judge Roger L. Wollman affirmed three decisions of the lower court, which finds "partial-birth abortion" bans unconstitutional. In September 24, 1999, three judges cast a unanimous finding that "partial-birth abortion" bans would negatively affect abortion seekers, because it would prevent them from using the safest and most common abortion procedures available to date. Moreover, the court also affirmed the views of pro-choice advocates who find "partial-birth abortion" bans to be anti-choice bans. The court confirmed that campaigns against "partial birth abortion" are a fraud, designed to deprive American women of their abortion rights. Such decision by the circuit court was a victory for all American women, as well as for the American Constitution. Besides Chief Judge Roger Wollman, the other judges who participated in the decision of the US circuit court include Richard S. Arnold and Paul A. Magnuson.


Researches and generalizations of information on basic patterns of formation, growth, and structure of Irkutsk region forest stands and plantations enabled to study dynamics of formation and productivity of mixed pine forests, being naturally developed under various economic impacts. Such parameters as diameter-, height-, and volume-wise pine and larch increment in mixed forest stands were studied. The obtained results were accurate due to a wealth of experimental material, statistical and mathematical processing using MS Excel application software, graphic methods of processing the materials. The following conclusions can be made based on the materials collected: areas and yields of larch in Irkutsk region have been sharply reduced, since there are processes of intense deforestation and weak natural regeneration of larch here. Mixed forest plantations of pine and larch grow rather successfully, however, such areas are few, since there is no commercial procurement of larch seeds in Irkutsk region, no larch seedlings are cultivated in nursery forests; larch saplings occupy a much smaller area than Scots pine saplings do; basic taxation parameters and structure of mixed pine-larch forest plantations are formed at the young age; saplings have mean productivity, equivalent to the 3rd yield class; mixed forest stands are of high practical and industrial value that depends on conditions of domestic and foreign market.


Doctors, schoolteachers, and priests were directly involved in carrying out massacres in Rwanda, says the first substantive report on the killings, published last week by a respected human rights organisation. The 422 page report, by African Rights, contains interviews with eye witnesses of the genocide that took place during April and May this year (see personal view on p963).

African Rights documents how, after President Juvenal Habyarimana was assassinated on 6 April, hundreds of thousands of Tutsis were murdered by their Hutu neighbours. The report states that, far from being a sudden act of tribal violence, the genocide was orchestrated by the government and ignored by the international community. The United Nations, it says, failed to take a "moral lead" in stopping the killing.

Most people were killed in massacres that took place in hospitals, schools, and churches across the country. Their killers used hand grenades, guns, machetes, and masus (big clubs studded with nails). In almost every massacre investigated by African Rights, survivors told of militia returning the next morning to …


This article proposes a solution to the Dunn Debate. It is that Peter's temporary role in using the metaphorical 'keys of the kingdom of heaven' that Jesus promised him in Mt. 16.19 involved both Peter's preaching the gospel and Jesus' initial baptizing with the Holy Spirit. Thus, no subsequence (post-conversion Spirit baptism) presumably occurred with the 3,000 Jewish converts at Pentecost in Acts 2 and certainly with the Gentiles in Acts 10 because Peter was the preacher of the gospel when they believed; but subsequence did occur with the Samaritans in Acts 8 because Philip preached and they believed, but Peter came to them days later, using his kingdom keys. After that, with the exception of the anomaly in Acts 19, Dunn is correct that conversion and Spirit baptism always occur simultaneously.


The improved resolution of recent seismic surveys has made seismic chimney structures a common observation in sedimentary basins worldwide and on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Focused fluid flow in vertical chimneys is an important and poorly understood feature in a petroleum system. Oil and gas migrate through preferential pathways from source rocks to structural traps where they form reservoirs. Further migration or leakage from reservoirs leads to formation of shallow hydrocarbon accumulations and gas pockets. In some cases, leakage through preferential pathways can be traced up to the surface or to the sea floor, where it leads to formation of mud volcanoes, mounds and pockmarks. Here, we present results of an integrated case study, which is performed on a 3D seismic data set that covers an area of approximately 3000km2. The seismic sequence stratigraphic interpretation is complemented with a study of seismic fluid migration paths. Detection of seismic chimneys is a challenging task. State-of-the-art chimney cube technology based on self-educating neural networks was used to automatically identify possible structures. The results of seismic inversion in combination with available well data provided a set of surfaces distinguishing various stratigraphic layers and their properties. Obtained geological model was used as a basis for coupled geo-mechanical / fluid flow modelling that reconstructed the fluid flow processes in the geological past that lead to formation of chimney structures. Our numerical model of chimney formation is based on the two-phase theory of fluid flow through (de)compacting porous rocks. Viscous bulk rheology and strong nonlinear coupling of deforming porous rocks to fluid flow are key ingredients of the model. Chimney formation is linked to pressure build-up in the underlying reservoir. We reconstruct the fluid flow processes in the geological past that lead to formation of chimney structures and provide expectations for their present-day morphology, porosity and fluid pressure. Conditions of chimney formation, their sizes, spatial distribution and times of formation are investigated. The fate of the chimney after it has been created and its role as a fluid pathway in the present-day state is studied.


A retrospective clinicopathologic study of lymphoblastic lymphoma was based on 95 patients from the files of the Repository Center for Lymphoma Clinical Studies. All patients were treated according to different protocols of Cooperative Oncology groups sponsored by the National Cancer Institute. The patients ranged in age from 4 to 84 years, with a median of 30 years. Sixty‐eight patients were male and 27 were female, with respective median ages of 27 and 50 years. The male‐to‐female ratio was 2.5:1. Forty patients had mediastinal masses; 30 (75%) of whom were male. The median survival of all patients was 17 months (range 1–100 months). To ascertain the influence of various clinical and morphologic parameters on survival, univariate and multivariate statistical analyses were performed. Patients older than 30 years of age had significantly lower incidences of mediastinal involvement (P = 0.01), number of mitotic figures (P = 0.04), and development of leukemia (P = 0.02) than patients younger than 30. Whereas lymphoblastic lymphoma is generally considered to be a disease of children and young adults, this study indicates that lymphoblastic lymphoma occurs in all age groups. These findings further suggest that lymphoblastic lymphoma may have a different biologic behavior in older patients.


On the basis of two cases and a survey of literature the syndrome of the peliosis of liver, spleen and bone marrow is described and its pathogenetic factors are demonstrated. For peliosis is a syndrome which is characterized by multiple cavities filled with blood in the parenchyma. It is established that the peliosis has changed from very rare autopsy findings in a prognostically unfavorable basic disease has changed to a clinically significant and therapeutically controllable complication of the hormone therapy.


In this paper we propose a method for quantitative assessment of pathological nystagmus by using eye gaze data recorded with an eye tracker (Tobii T60). In detail, we use data acquired while patients perform two tests, the smooth pursuit and the saccadic movement test (implemented on the Tobii T60 using its API), that may indicate altered ophthalmic functions typical of the pathological nystagmus. Afterwards, data is analyzed by using statistical, spectral and chaotic methods in order to provide the physicians with a useful tool for assessing quantitatively the severity (or the presence) of the pathological nystagmus. A pilot study carried out on a set of 15 patients is here reported for a preliminary investigation of the suitability of the proposed eye tracker method.


Does the lending channel of monetary policy operate under a negative interest rate policy (NIRP)? The purpose of this study is to shed light on the existence of a lending channel of monetary policy under NIRP. To do so, we aim to provide an in-depth analysis of the relationship between NIRP and bank-lending behavior. To achieve this, we employ a large panel dataset of 4072 banks operating in 54 countries over the period 2009-2018 and a Difference-in-Differences methodology. We find that banks located in countries affected by negative interest rates have adjusted their bank-lending behavior by increasing lending activities. Our findings suggest that in response to negative interest rates, banks have reduced their lending cost, and increased lending supply, especially for loans longer than 3 months. Finally, we also find that the transmission of monetary policy under negative interest rates to the real economy depends on banks' specific characteristics such as reliance on retail deposits and size.


More polyunsaturated fats in processed foods and fewer additives are a huge demand of public health agencies and consumers. Consequently, although foods have an enhanced tendency to oxidize, the usage of antioxidants, especially synthetic antioxidants, is restrained. An alternate solution is to better control the localization of reactants inside the food matrix to limit oxidation. This review establishes the state-of-the-art on lipid oxidation in oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions, with an emphasis on the role of the interfacial region, a critical area in the system in that respect. We first provide a summary on the essential basic knowledge regarding (i) the structure of O/W emulsions and interfaces and (ii) the general mechanisms of lipid oxidation. Then, we discuss the factors involved in the development of lipid oxidation in O/W emulsions with a special focus on the role played by the interfacial region. The multiple effects that can be attributed to emulsifiers according to their chemical structure and their location, and the interrelationships between the parameters that define the physicochemistry and structure of emulsions are highlighted. This work sheds new light on the interpretation of reported results that are sometimes ambiguous or contradictory.


A new paradigm, Random Sample Consensus (RANSAC), for fitting a model to experimental data is introduced. RANSAC is capable of interpreting/smoothing data containing a significant percentage of gross errors, and is thus ideally suited for applications in automated image analysis where interpretation is based on the data provided by error-prone feature detectors. A major portion of this paper describes the application of RANSAC to the Location Determination Problem (LDP): Given an image depicting a set of landmarks with known locations, determine that point in space from which the image was obtained. In response to a RANSAC requirement, new results are derived on the minimum number of landmarks needed to obtain a solution, and algorithms are presented for computing these minimum-landmark solutions in closed form. These results provide the basis for an automatic system that can solve the LDP under difficult viewing


Current machine perception techniques that typically use segmentation followed by object recognition lack the required robustness to cope with the large variety of situations encountered in real-world navigation. Many existing techniques are brittle in the sense that even minor changes in the expected task environment (e.g., diierent lighting conditions, geometrical distortion , etc.) can severely degrade the performance of the system or even make it fail completely. In this paper we present a system that achieves robust performance by using local reinforcement learning to induce a highly adaptive mapping from input images to seg-mentation strategies for successful recognition. This is accomplished by using the conndence level of model matching as reinforcement to drive learning. Local reinforcement learning gives rises to better improvement in recognition performance. The system is veri-ed through experiments on a large set of real images of traac signs.


Twenty-four samples of the Ultra-Zener, an integrated circuit containing a buried Zener junction, type no. LTZ 1000, have been tested since March 1988. With some circuit modification, half of the samples have been found to have an aging rate of less than 1.5 p.p.m./year, and all have an aging rate of less than 4 p.p.m./year. The initial tests indicate that the Ultra-Zener seems to have no serious disadvantages as a voltage standard apart from price and some added circuit complexity.<<ETX>>


We present a model for nebular emission in star forming galaxies, which takes into account the eects of dust reprocessing. The nebular emissions (continuum emission, 54 H and He recombination lines and 60 nebular lines from UV to IR) have been computed with CLOUDY and then included into GRASIL, our spectrophotometric code specifically devel- oped for dusty galaxies. The interface between nebular emission and population synthesis is based on a set of pre-computed Hii region emission models covering a wide range of physical quantities (metallicity, density, geometry and number of Hi, Hei and Oii ionizing photons). These quantities are fully adequate to describe the emission properties of the majority of star- forming and starburst galaxies. Concerning the extinction properties of normal star forming galaxies, we are able to interpret the observed lack of correlation between the attenuation measured at H and in the UV band as a consequence of age selective extinction. We also find that, for these galaxies with modest SFR, the ratio FIR/UV provides the best constraints on the UV at- tenuation. The accurate treatment of lines and continuum in dusty galaxies also allows to deal with dierent SFR estimators in a consistent way, from the UV to radio wavelengths, and to discuss the uncertainties arising from the dierent physical conditions encountered in star forming galaxies. We provide our best estimates of SFR/luminosity calibrations, together with their expected range of variation. It results that SFR derived through H, even when corrected for extinction using the Balmer decrement, is aected by important uncertainties due to age selective extinction. Another remarkable result is that SFR from UV luminosity corrected by means of the ratio FIR/UV has a small uncertainty. Finally, our model provides a calibration of SFR from radio luminosity; its value diers from estimates from other works, but we are able to reproduce the observed FIR/radio ratio. These results are relevant to estimates of the contribution of disk galaxies to the cosmic SFR at z 1.


Morphologic variability from 25 populations of Acer campestre L. in Bosnia and Herzegovina was analyzed. Morphometric structure of variability and between-population variability was performed based on 10 fruit-parameter characteristics and 19 leaf-parameter characteristics using multivariate statistical analysis. Results confirmed the separation of three submediterranean populations as a group in relation to other tested populations, from which the Banja Luka population is different. Measured leaf parameters were confirmed as a predominant carrier of the morphologic separation between populations. In other Acer species populations within A. monspessulanum and A. intermedium species are separated mainly by fruit and much less by leaf parameters. The southernmost submediterranean populations from Trebinje, Ljubuški, and Mostar regions have smaller leaf areas, which consequently places them within the same morphologic group; their variability is in tight connection with eco-geo-graphical factors, where the ecological distance is a much better predictor of morphological variability compared to geographical distance. The air temperature had the biggest influence on morphological variability regarding the highest in-between correlation. Achieved results may serve for the continuation of the research in other areas of Acer campestre to determine the interactive effect of ecological, geographical, climatic, and migrational factors on their morphologic population plasticity.


Aquaporins play a promising role in the fabrication of high-performance biomimetic membranes. Interfacial polymerisation is a promising strategy for synthesizing aquaporin-based membranes. In this study, robust and high-performance aquaporin-based biomimetic membranes were successfully fabricated by interfacial polymerisation, and the membrane separation performance and interfacial polymerisation method were systematically evaluated. The effects of modification methods on the performance of aquaporins-based biomimetic membranes, including sodium hypochlorite and thermal post-treatment, protein-to-lipid ratio, liposome concentration and the addition arrangement of aquaporins were also investigated. Morphological observation suggested that the introduced proteoliposomes were completely embedded in the polyamide layer and that their spherical shape was preserved. Sodium hypochlorite post-treatment and thermal treatment were beneficial in improving the water flux and salt rejection of the resultant membrane without sacrificing the aquaporin activity. The biomimetic membranes had a high water flux and salt rejection, which were almost twice that of the control membranes, after aquaporin-based proteoliposomes were incorporated with an appropriated protein-to-lipid ratio and liposome concentration. The addition arrangement of aquaporins during the interfacial polymerisation procedure significantly influence the obtained membrane's structure. Lastly, this article introduces valuable and systematic research on interfacial polymerisation fabricated aquaporin-based biomimetic membranes with outstanding separation performance.


This is the first of two companion papers which collectively present a method for the analysis of built-up structures. One such structure is the machinery foundation of a ship which is constructed from a collection of large beams and flexible plates. The heavy vibration sources are supported by the large stiff beams. The power injected into and the power transmitted around the structure is controlled by long-wavelength waves generated in these beams by the vibration sources. As these long waves propagate along the stiff beams they generate short-wavelength flexural waves in the attached flexible plates. The long waves transmit some of their energy to the short-wavelength waves which therefore damp the long waves. The difference between the wavelengths of the long waves in the stiff beams and the short waves in the flexible plates is often very large. In this case, the short waves present a locally reacting impedance to the long waves at the structural joints. This paper argues that such a condition allows the vibration to predicted in three steps. First, the long-wave response of the stiff beams is analyzed in isolation of the short-wave response of the flexible plates; second, the short-wave response of the flexible plates is analyzed in isolation of the long-wave response; third, the two separate responses are combined to yield the response of the complete structure due to both the long and the short waves. The method is applied to a simple plate-stiffened beam consisting of a directly excited stiff beam attached to a large flexible plate which is broadly representative of the machinery foundation. The method predicts the frequency response of the plate-stiffened beam which compares well with laboratory measurements, thereby supporting the method. In this paper, all three steps are performed analytically which restricts the method to geometrically simple structures. The companion paper presents a hybrid numerical/analytical implementation which accommodates geometrically more diverse structures.


The degradation of human skin preelastic fibres (PEF) namely oxytalan and elaunin fibres, and that of mature skin elastic fibres (EF) by human leukocyte elastase and purified human fibroblast elastase was studied by morphometric analysis. Leukocyte elastase hydrolyzed both types of fibres; Elaunin and mature elastic fibres were found particularly sensitive to degradation by this proteinase. Skin PEF and EF from 59-67 yr-old individuals were degraded to a greater extent by this proteinase than those from the two younger individuals analyzed (18 and 24 yrs old). Human skin fibroblast elastase mainly hydrolyzed PEF. It possessed only a limited action toward mature dermal elastic fibres. At the highest dose of proteinase used, the volume fraction of EF was reduced by 50% in youngest skins and by 25% in the oldest ones.


The main objective of this study is to evaluate the ability of Visible Near-Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (VNIRS) to predict diverse soil properties in grinding different particular size effect. In this study, 60 soil samples were collected from the fields including different soil ordo (entisols, inceptisols, vertisols and mollisols) in Isparta (Atabey) district; crushed samples were subjected into five different mesh sizes (4.76 to 2.00, 2.00 to 1.00, 1.00 to 0.50, 0.5 to 0.25 and <0.25 mm, respectively). Each soil samples were scanned with a visible near-infrared spectrometer, with a spectral range of 350 to 2500 nm, at five different particular sizes. The spectral reflectances were used to predict some physical properties of the soil (texture, field capacity and wilting point) using partial least squares (PLS) regression. PLS analysis was used to develop calibration models between smoothed-first derivative 6nm-spaced spectral reflectance data and soil physical analysis measured clay, silt, sand, field capacity and wilting point. The results showed that while soils need to be crushed to pass through 0.25 mm sieve in order to determine wilting point and amount of clay, mesh size was found non-significant in determining sand, silt and field capacaity and the results obtained from the reflectance values taken from field samplings proved to be satisfactory.


J. R. Soc. Interface 12, 20150037 (2015; Published online 1 April 2015) (doi:10.1098/rsif.2015.0037)

In our original manuscript [1], we made an erroneous claim about the general properties of Galton–Watson (GW) processes, based on a misreading of the literature. We claimed that

The Kesten–Stigum theorem states that for any GW process, the distribution of the number of nodes converges to an exponential distribution, conditional on the tree not becoming extinct.

In fact the Kesten–Stigum theorem [2] only states that the number of nodes will converge to some random variable, the distribution of which depends on the choice of offspring distribution. This random variable has a mean of ζh, where ζ is the mean offspring per node and h is the number of generations.

Therefore, equation (3.2) in the original manuscript, and the results derived from it, hold in the reduced set of cases where the number of leaves in the tree of potential future choices converges to an exponential distribution. Though we cannot delimit all processes where this applies, there are two special cases with particular relevance to our manuscript:

— For a GW process where the number of offspring to any node is geometrically distributed (either single parameter or zero-modified), the number of leaves at generation h will also be geometrically distributed [3], and can be well approximated by an exponential distribution for large h. The geometric distribution is the maximum entropy distribution over the integers with a known mean and therefore a natural choice when considering a process with a fixed mean number of offspring in the absence of other information.

— As stated in the original manuscript, the continuous time Yule process also converges to an exponential distribution at long time horizons.

Readers should therefore be aware that the derivations of collective and social behaviours described in the manuscript are valid within this bound. Alternative choices of GW or other branching process specifications will potentially result in different collective and individual behaviour predictions.


Objective In this study, we examined the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the Prodromal Questionnaire-Brief (PQ-B), a self-report screening instrument for clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR). Methods A total of 3,400 middle, high school and college students participated, and 261 subjects with a PQ-B total score ≥3 completed both the PQ-B and the Structured Interview for Prodromal Syndromes (SIPS). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to examine the psychometric properties of the PQ-B. Results A cut-off of 7 for the PQ-B total score and a cut-off of 22 for the PQ-B distress score showed the best balance of sensitivity (72.2%, 77.8%) and specificity (71.4%, 75.0%). Conclusion The Korean version of the PQ-B showed good reliability and validity for predicting prodromal risk symptoms in the community population.


The prospect of a decreasing supply of fossil energy sources necessitates the search for alternative ways of individual transport. An important step is the electrification of the drive train and further vehicle components, enabling a total control of the overall energy flow while at the same time offering more degrees of freedom in optimizing the vehicle architecture. The current status of the development of a vehicle energy management for a single source Battery Electric Vehicle is presented. A central ECU, a bench test system and a simulation model were developed. The energy management strategy presented can help to improve the lifetime of EV's batteries, which finally needs to be evaluated in vehicle prototype tests. This work has been supported by the European Commission under grant no. 258133.


Purpose:The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible factors that influenced the periimplant soft tissue changes around single implants-abutments with laser-microtextured surface (LMS) in the esthetic zone. Materials and Methods:Thirty-nine units, formed by implant-abutment with LMS were studied. Variables possibly associated with the periimplant soft tissue changes were obtained from clinical measurements (plaque [present/absent], periimplant biotype [thin/thick], and probing depth); intrasurgical measurements (vertical height in millimeters of the keratinized gingiva in the vestibular part of the implant site vestibular keratinized gingiva [VKG], implant vestibular crestal exposition, vestibular crestal level, and vestibular bone width); cast models (implant position [buccal/palatal], implant abutments angle); periapical radiographs (distance from the contact point to the interproximal bone crest of the adjacent tooth [CP-BC], distance from the contact point to the implant platform [CP-P], distance from the contact point to the first bone to implant contact [CP-IB]); and digital clinical photographs. Fisher exact test was used to determine the influence of each factor on the papilla level and on the facial marginal mucosal level. Results:The papillae level at the implant sites was significantly associated with the distance from the contact point to the alveolar bone crest, whereas no association was found with other variables. Periimplant biotype, differences in the VKG, CP-BC, and CP-IB were found associated with the different facial marginal mucosal level groups. Conclusions:This study showed that the papilla level at single-tooth implants-abutments with LMS in the anterior maxilla was mainly influenced by the interproximal bone crest level of the adjacent tooth, whereas the marginal mucosal level was affected by periimplant biotype, facial bone crest level, and crestal implant exposition.


Microsatellite markers previously developed for other leguminous species were tested for cross-genus transferability and evaluated for their potential usefulness in providing an improved assessment of the genetic relationships between two closely related taxa belonging to Onobrychis genus (Fabaceae). Candidate microsatellite markers were tested for polymorphism and replicability in sixteen populations of O. montana DC. subsp. transsilvanica (Simonk.) Jáv. and O. montana. Out of the 23 SSRs, there were identified seven polymorphic loci. In total 32 alleles were detected and the number of alleles per locus varied from two to six. PIC values ranged from 0.375 to 0.6454, and four SSRs displayed a PIC > 0.5. Relative uniform rates of genetic diversity were obtained. In case of O. montana DC. subsp. transsilvanica (Simonk.) Jáv. the observed and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.100 to 0.952 and from 0.219 to 0.525, respectively, while for O. montana ranged from 0.166 to 0.750 and from 0.083 to 0.375, respectively. Seven polymorphic SSRs with clear and reproducible amplification were identified. These markers proved to be very efficient for unambiguous population discrimination based on both geographic and taxonomic criteria. Hereafter, these SSR markers can be used as tools for evolutionary studies in Onobrychis genus, as well in providing knowledge on patterns of the species phylogeography.


Congenital heart disease in pregnancy is increasingly common because of the advances in surgery and medical therapy which have taken place over the last 30 years, which means that more affected women are surviving into the reproductive age. Antenatal counselling needs to be tailored to the specific lesion, with pulmonary hypertension and cyanotic disease presenting a risk of maternal mortality of up to 50%. The use of anticoagulants in women with artificial valves presents a particular challenge, heparin being safer for the baby and warfarin for the mother. Peripartum cardiomyopathy and Marfan's syndrome may be less dangerous than once thought. The risk of congenital heart disease in the fetus is increased, from twice to 20-fold, depending on the nature of the mother's lesion. Care throughout pregnancy and in the puerperium should be multidisciplinary and include cardiologists, obstetricians and midwives with experience of such cases, preferably in a tertiary centre.


The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program of the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, conducts a national inventory of forests across the United States. A systematic subset of permanent inventory plots in 38 States is currently sampled every year for numerous forest health indicators. One of these indicators, crown-condition classification, is designed to estimate tree crown dimensions and assess the impact of crown stressors. The indicator features eight tree-level field measurements in addition to variables traditionally measured in conjunction with FIA inventories: vigor class, uncompacted live crown ratio, crown light exposure, crown position, crown density, crown dieback, foliage transparency, and crown diameter. Indicators of crown health derived from the crown data are intended for analyses at the State, regional, and national levels, and contribute to the core tabular output in standard FIA reports. Crown-condition measurements were originally implemented as part of the Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) Program in 1990. Except for crown diameter, these measurements were continued when the FIA Program assumed responsibility for FHM plot-based detection monitoring in 2000. This report describes in detail the data collection and analytical techniques recommended for crown-condition classification.


Tourism is one of the five priority development sectors in 2017 set by President Joko Widodo, in addition to the food, energy, maritime sectors, as well as industrial zones and Special Economic zones (KEK). Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the contribution of the tourism sector to Indonesia's foreign exchange is experiencing growth from year to year. This article aims to examine the field of sharia tourism (halal tourism) in terms of understanding and perspective in the field of sharia law and economics, and specifically directed to the discussion of legal protection for tourists in the context of the utilization of sharia tourism products and services (halal tourism). Sharia tourism sector (halal tourism) is a new field and is a part of Indonesia's efforts in developing and developing sharia economic and business systems as an alternative to the country's economic development. Through this research, it is found that the implementation of sharia tourism activities (halal tourism) in Indonesia still does not have adequate legal instruments and specifically regulates sharia tourism activities, including the legal rules related to legal protection of tourists. Through this research, it is found several legal instruments that can be used as alternatives in the framework of efforts to provide legal protection for the use of Islamic tourism products and services. The legal instruments include UU No. 8 of 1999 concerning Consumer Protection and UU No. 33 of 2004 concerning Halal Product Guarantee, in both legal instruments there are at least several provisions that can be used as guidelines and legal umbrella, among them are; related to the fulfillment of the right of tourists to get halal food and beverage products; the right of tourists to get services in accordance with sharia principles; the right of tourists to avoid misconduct, khurafat, pornography, liquor, and drugs; and fulfillment of tourist rights to access to worship.


Electromyography (EMG) identifies abnormalities in the neuronal hyperexcitability syndrome (NHS) with high frequencies of false positive results. We examined 25 subjects with autonomic, psychic and neuromuscular symptoms of NHS. They underwent the ischaemia-hyperpnea test using stringent time criteria to study their symptoms as well as their electrolytical balance. The Kaplan-Meier analysis showed a significantly different incidence of repetitive discharges in the two groups in the post-ischaemic period (p < 0.004) and during hyperpnea (p < 0.001). The ischaemia-hyperpnea EMG test, when evaluated in relation to the the duration of activation procedure, was able to differentiate NHS patients from controls only within 4-6 minutes of ischaemia or hyperpnea. When restricted to this period, EMG observation with the triggering of Ischaemia-hyperpnea identified NHS with a high degree of sensitivity and specificity.


Objectives: For Apis dorsata honey, the basic properties, namely the pH, and the total proline, protein and invert sugar contents, were determined. For proteins, the mass weight and partial amino acid sequence of the three major proteins were assayed and homologs screened for. A bioassay for antimicrobial activity was also performed. Methodology: Proline content and the percentage of invert sugar were evaluated, whilst the total protein content was assayed and the major protein components were analyzed by reducing SDS-PAGE. From the excised bands partial amino acid sequences deduced by MALDI-TOF MS and homologs were searched for by Mascot database. Antimicrobial activity was assayed by the agar well diffusion method. Results: The proline, invert sugar and total protein contents were 6.35µg/ml, 13.2% (w/w) and 0.16% (w/w), respectively, with three major protein bands of 50, 75 and 100 kDa. All tested (25-100% (v/v)) dilutions of honey could inhibit the growth of S. aureus. Conclusion: A. dorsata honey may contain an epinecidin homolog, an antimicrobial peptide, and can inhibit the growth of some bacteria. It suggests that honey could be used as an antimicrobial agent.


Wasp stings occur frequently in developing countries and often lead to fatal outcomes due to the effects of wasp venom. Hemolysis and rhabdomyolysis often complicate wasp stings and result in acute kidney injury (AKI). We report a case of multiple wasp stings leading to AKI and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) in a 9-year-old Indonesian girl. Kidney biopsy revealed acute tubular necrosis and acute interstitial nephritis. Despite delayed admission, she recovered in 33 days after 3 days of intravenous steroid administration, eight sessions of intermittent hemodialysis, and two sessions of plasma exchange (PE). Complete recovery of kidney function, indicated by normal diuresis, normal estimated glomerular filtration rate, and negative albuminuria, was reached within 12 weeks. This case showed that immediate admission following multiple wasp stings (particularly >10 stings) to initiate early dialysis is important to promptly remove toxins and preserve kidney function. The case also showed that PE can be beneficial in cases of hemolysis and rhabdomyolysis complicated by MODS.


In this study, porous anodic alumina (PAA) was fabricated using oxalic acid and phosphoric acid as electrolytes, and the effects of impurities on the phase transition of PAA according to changes in the heat-treatment temperature were investigated. The average pore diameter of PAA fabricated using oxalic acid and phosphoric acid increased from 43 nm to 64 nm and from 145 nm to 183 nm, respectively, in proportion to the increase in the heat-treatment temperature. An X-ray diffraction (XRD) structure analysis revealed the structure of PAA fabricated in oxalic acid to be amorphous at or below 800°C and it changed to γ-alumina at 850°C. At higher temperatures, as the heattreatment temperature was increased, a coexistence of γ- and δ-alumina phases was observed in the 900–1000°C range, and the existence of δ-alumina was observed only at 1050°C. Finally, at 1100°C, a coexistence of δ- and α-alumina phases was observed. On the other hand, for PAA fabricated in phosphoric acid, while an amorphous structure appeared at or below 800°C, as was the case with PAA fabricated in oxalic acid, only δ-alumina existed in the 850–1100°C range. On the basis of 27Al magic-angle-spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS NMR) and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR) results, we concluded that such a discrepancy in the phase transition was attributable to interactions between impurities originating from the electrolytes.


Summary
DNA complementary to the 4.7 kb cymbidium ringspot virus (CyRSV) genome was cloned in Escherichia coli. Recombinant plasmids were screened with a cDNA probe synthesized from randomly primed CyRSV genomic RNA, and two clones were chosen for further analysis. Two additional subclones were prepared after deletion of two sequences in the 3′ region and one clone containing 5′ virus genome sequences was constructed by primer extension. Three different RNA species associated with CyRSV were detected in purified virions and virus-infected tissue. The largest RNA was genomic RNA and the other two subgenomic. Northern blot hybridization indicated that the two subgenomic RNAs had in common a region corresponding to the 3′ region of genomic RNA. All three RNAs were found in tissue in both single- and double-stranded forms. In vitro translation experiments with fractionated virus RNA indicated that the coat protein gene is internally located and that it is followed by a 3′-terminal gene coding for a 22K protein.


: Cerebral Sinus Venous Thrombosis: A rare Cerebrovascular Disease mainly affecting Young Women. Cerebral sinus venous thrombosis is a rare, (sub)acute, venous cere brovascular disease and causes 0.5 to 1 % of all strokes, mostly affecting women younger than 50 years. Headache is the leading symptom, other frequent presentations include epileptic seizures, focal neurological deficits (such as hemiparesis or speech disturbances) and signs of increased intracranial pressure (ultimately leading to coma). Various risk factors and po tential etiologies have been associated with CSVT. Oral contraception, pregnancy and es pecially the postpartum


We demonstrate the first low-noise mid-IR frequency comb source using a silicon microresonator. Our observation of strong Raman scattering lines in the generated comb suggests that interplay between Raman and four-wave mixing plays a role in the generated low-noise state. In addition, we characterize, the intracavity comb generation dynamics using an integrated PIN diode, which takes advantage of the inherent three-photon absorption process in silicon.


A prerequisite for comparative histology of synovial tissue by means of biopsies is insight into the distribution of a marker under study. This investigation focuses on the variation in the presence of T cells and signs of T-cell activation within the rheumatoid joint. For this purpose, multiple slides from several pieces of synovial tissue from different parts of a joint were stained and scored for the expression of CD3, CD25, HLA-DR, Ki67 and interferon-gamma. The variation in scores for the presence of T cells and markers of activation was more pronounced in slides prepared from different pieces of tissue than in slides from one piece of tissue. Based on multiple analysis of variance, methods are suggested to establish a reliable overall score for the expression of a certain marker within a joint. Following validation, such methods may prove to be useful by allowing semiquantitative histology of synovial tissue for studies on arthritis.


Expenditure elasticities were estimated for yam and cassava and for seven other food items widely consumed by the people of south-east Nigeria. For all households, the combined elasticity estimate for yam was above unity and almost as high as that of meat. For high expenditure households, however, it was significantly below unity but still positive. The estimate for any cassava product was below unity but positive for all households combined. For high expenditure households, especially urban households, the estimate for all cassava products combined was negative, but that for gari, a high-quality processed cassava product, although still below unity, was positive and higher than the estimate for yam. The estimates suggest that market potentials exist for increased production of root and tuber crops in the area. The estimates also suggest that although in certain forms of preparation cassava may be an inferior food item, in other forms, it is far from being inferior; it may even be superior to yam. This suggests that there is need for improvement in cassava-processing technology to improve quality and expand the market for that root crop.


In a knowledge-based growth model where skilled workers are used in innovation and production, skill-biased technological change may lower average R&D productivity via an innovation possibilities frontier effect that eliminates scale effects. We show that skill-biased technological change increases the skill premium even if the elasticity of substitution between skilled and unskilled workers is less than two. Trade between developed countries promotes skill-biased technological change, thus raising wage inequality. Trade between developed and developing countries has differing effects: it induces relatively skill-replacing technological change and lowers wage inequality in the developed country but has the opposite effects in the developing country. Finally, we show that trade can stimulate or hurt economic growth.