Objective : to study the state of adaptive immunity in children with moderate acute urticaria. Materials and methods : 139 children with moderate acute urticaria were examined. Clinical methods included analysis of anamnestic data, objective examination of the child. Immunological methods of investigation included determination of t-lymphocyte, B-lymphocyte populations by fl ow cytofl uorometry, circulating immune complexes by spectroturbidimetry, determination of secretory IgA, IgA, IgM, IgG, IL-4, IL-6, IL-17 by enzyme immunoassay of blood serum. Results : the analysis of adaptive immunity parameters in children with moderate acute urticaria revealed activation of humoral immunity, reduction of early activation and apoptotic readiness of lymphocytes, reduction of secretory IgA, increase in circulating immune complexes, high levels of IL-17. Conclusion : the revealed changes indicate an imbalance in the functioning of the adaptive link of the immune system, activation of the cytokine cascade of infl ammation, which is accompanied by further activation of the regulatory components of the infl ammatory process


In Reply.— Dr Valentine raised important questions regarding the significance of isolation of multiple aerobic-anaerobic organisms from infected cysts. Although Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes are known skin pathogens, other organisms have also been recognized as important contributors to these infections. 1,2 Cysts can become infected by adjacent skin and mucus membrane flora, and the presence of local signs of inflammation and pus formation support the role of these organisms. As noted by Dr Valentine, local inflammation can also be due to non-bacterial factors, as is noted in acne. However, utilizing techniques that are also appropriate for cultivation of anaerobic bacteria may reveal that many "sterile" cysts were actually infected with these organisms. Only 39 of our patients had no bacterial growth noted in their cysts. 3 The clinical appearance of those "sterile" cysts was similar to those that showed bacterial growth. It may be that previous antimicrobial therapy, that was given


Motion prediction for automated vehicles in complex environments is a difficult task that is to be mastered when automated vehicles are to be used in arbitrary situations. Many factors influence the future motion of traffic participants starting with traffic rules and reaching from the interaction between each other to personal habits of human drivers. Therefore, we present a novel approach for a graph-based prediction based on a heterogeneous holistic graph representation that combines temporal information, properties and relations between traffic participants as well as relations with static elements such as the road network. The information is encoded through different types of nodes and edges that both are enriched with arbitrary features. We evaluated the approach on the INTERACTION and the Argoverse dataset and conducted an informative ablation study to demonstrate the benefit of different types of information for the motion prediction quality.


Toxoplasmosis was diagnosed in 5i,2% of 5000 patients and cohabitants with suspicions of several affections who were referred to the parasitology service of the "General Calixto García" Teaching Hospital from several provinces and regions of the country. The intradermoreaction test with toxoplasmin antigen was used in all of them. Results are exposed according to affections, sex, age and origin of the patients.


Children with chronic renal failure are frequently exposed to painful invasive procedures. Ointments containing lignocaine-prilocaine, when used before intravenous punctures, have been reported to lessen the pain sensation. The aim of this study was to interpret the effectiveness of lidocaine 2.5% ointment in preventing pain when used before venous and arterial punctures in children undergoing a haemodialysis programme for chronic renal failure. Eight children were included in this study. The pain level was identified by the patients using a linear analogue scale. When topical anaesthetic and placebo were compared, there was no statistical difference in interpretation of pain during arterial (P > 0.4), venous (P > 0.375) or both (P > 0.4) procedures. We conclude that lidocaine 2.5% ointment is not effective in preventing pain in children undergoing long-term haemodialysis. In these patients some other factors, like psychological factors, puncture technique and needle size must be taken into consideration for the prevention of pain.


Extracting frequent item sets is an important task in many data mining applications. When data are very large, it becomes mandatory to perform the mining task by using an external memory algorithm. Certain limitations of the partitioning techniques adopted by external memory algorithms for extracting all the frequent item sets, when applied to closed item sets mining,which adopts Divide and conquer strategy. We introduce the algorithm for mining closed item sets out of core. The algorithm exploits a divide-and Conquer approach, where the input dataset is split into smaller partitions, such that not only they can be loaded, but also they can be mined entirely into the main memory.


The retrieval of images based on their visual similarity to an example image is an important and fascinating area of research. Here, we discuss various ways in which visual appearance may be characterized for determining both global and local similarity in images. One popular method involves the computation of global measures like moment invariants to characterize global similarity. Although this means that the image may be characterized using a few numbers, the performance is often poor. Techniques based on moment invariants often perform poorly. They require that the object be a binary shape without holes which is often not practical. In addition, moment invariants are sensitive to noise. Visual appearance is better represented using local features computed at multiple scales. Such local features may include the outputs of images filtered with Gaussian derivatives, differential invariants or geometric quantities like curvature and phase. Two images may be said to be similar if they have similar distributions of such features. Global similarity may, therefore, be deduced by comparing histograms of such features. This can be done rapidly. Histograms cannot be used to compute local similarity. Instead, the constraint that the spatial relationship between the features in the query be similar to the spatial relationship between the features of its matching counterparts in the database provides a means for computing local similarity. The methods presented here do not require prior segmentation of the database. In the case of local representation objects can be embedded in arbitrary backgrounds and both methods handle a range of size variations and viewpoint variations up to 20 or 25 degrees.


A small vector magnetometer has been constructed for DTUsat – a Danish CubeSat student project at the Technical University of Denmark. The presented magnetometer is used for attitude determination in conjunction with sun sensors, and supply local field measurements for the magnetotorquer controller. Present launch date is June 30th, 2003 from Plesetsk, Russia. Constraints on mechanical size, mass, and power consumption due to the small satellite outline have lead to the development of a highly integrated magnetometer system. Excellent performance is achieved using integrated magnetoresistive thin film sensors with on-chip bias coil. Accuracy better than 50nT over the full operating range of -10◦C to 70◦C is achieved through careful circuit design and compensation in both hardware and software. The single PCB holds all magnetometer circuits including sensors, measurement circuits, synchronous serial interface for control and readout, and latch-up detection. This paper describes design, circuit topology, performance tests, and satellite level calibration of the vector


The solubility and phase state of the sodium salt of cellulose acetate sulfate in water-ethanol, water-isopropanol, water-ethylene glycol, and water-glycerol mixtures were determined over a wide range of component concentrations. Viscometry was used to obtain the hydrodynamic parameters of dilute solutions of various salt forms of cellulose acetate sulfate such as the characteristic viscosity [eta], Huggins constant k(H), and crossover concentration c*. For the first time, an empirical criterion, [eta]k(H)c*, was suggested that could be used to predict the formation of the liquid crystalline state in concentrated solutions of cellulose derivatives.


Uniformity of heavy ion beam (HIB) illumination is one of key issues in HIB inertial confinement fusion (HIF) in order to compress a fuel sufficiently and release fusion energy effectively. In this paper a new mitigation method of the Rayleigh-Taylor (R-T) instability growth is presented to make a HIF target robust against a non-uniform implosion. In this study a new mitigation method of the R-T instability growth is proposed based on an oscillating perturbed acceleration, which can be realized by a rotation or oscillation of the HIB illumination axis onto a fuel pellet. The R-T instability analyses and fluid simulations demonstrate that the oscillating acceleration reduces the R-T instability growth significantly. In this paper a baseline steady acceleration g0 is perturbed by a perturbed oscillating acceleration δg, which is spatially non-uniform and oscillates in time (g0 >> δg). An example result shows an 84% reduction of the R-T instability growth. In the analytical work two stratified inviscid fluids are treated under the perturbed oscillating acceleration. The linear analysis shows that the R-T instability growth rate does not change from the standard expression of γ. However, the R-T instability growth is strongly affected and mitigated by the oscillating acceleration; The transverse velocity of w is derived at the interface of the two stratified fluids. The R-T instability is induced by δg. The result presents that the perturbed oscillating acceleration reduces the R-T instability growth significantly depending on the magnitude of the HIB oscillation frequency.


A set of slow-wave transmission lines designed in the BiCMOS9-MW technology from STMicroelectronics is characterized up to 110 GHz. State-of-the-art measured quality factors are obtained: 40 at 60 GHz, and more than 50 at 90 GHz. These transmission lines are also quite compact, thanks to a high effective relative permittivity, from 8 to 15 for a characteristic impedance, respectively between 70 Ω and 30 Ω. Based on these results, two power dividers using these slow-wave transmission lines are designed at millimeter-wave frequencies (77 GHz and 94 GHz). The measured S parameters present insertion loss lower than −3.5 dB and return loss better than −20 dB, at the operating frequency. Moreover the use of slow-wave transmission lines leads to a miniaturization of 70 % compared to a classical power splitter designed with microstrip or CPW transmission lines.


Introduction Diets rich in fruits and vegetables have been associated with a lower incidence of cancer and heart disease, which may be related to the antioxidant activity of bioactive compounds present in these foods. Phenolic compounds are potent antioxidants in vitro, of which flavonoids are of particular interest for their potential positive impact on health. Potatoes are one of the most consumed vegetables in the world and therefore an important source of phenolics. In Ireland they are the third most important crop with a farm gate value of approximately 45 million euros annually. The aim of this work was to evaluate the antioxidant activity of methanolic solutions extracted from the skin and flesh of potato tubers against the stable radical DPPH and analyze its relationship to the content of total phenolics and total flavonoids.


Parallel programming is a requirement in the multi-core era. One of the most promising techniques to make parallel programming available for general users is the use of parallel programming patterns. Functional pipeline parallelism is a well suited pattern for many emerging applications, such as streaming and "Recognition, Mining and Synthesis" (RMS) workloads. In this paper we develop an analytical model for pipeline parallelism and use it to characterize and optimize two of the PARSEC benchmarks which use the parallel pipeline pattern, ferret and dedup. We identify two scalability limitations: load imbalance and I/O bottlenecks. We address load imbalance using two techniques: parallel pipeline stage collapsing and dynamic scheduling. We implemented these optimizations using Pthreads and the Threading Building Blocks (TBB) libraries. We compare predicted and measured performance of all these implementations on a large scale SMP machine and we note that the work-stealing TBB implementation outperforms all other variants.


Novel tetrahydropyrimidines (THP-1 to THP-7) have been synthesized by the reaction of enaminones 1a-d, primary amine and formaldehyde in very good yields and their structures have been established with the help of spectral and analytical data. These tetrahydropyrimidines along with THP-8 to THP-15 previously reported by us were subjected to docking by using fast and flexible method to study their Acetylcholine Receptor (AChR) inhibiting properties. A knowledge-based approach has been followed for assigning proper parameters into the binding site of the protein. Our studies on these THPs reveal that THP-4 possesses best binding conformation within the binding site of the target protein with the energy value of -23.66 KJ/mol.


Directly visualizing the effect of changes to applications improves developers productivity as they gain immediate insights on the resulting application behavior. Yet, immediate feedback requires a representation of the dataflow in the application to correctly propagate and apply the effect of the changes. Reactive programming is a programming paradigm which directly expresses applications dataflow in a declarative way. Recently, researchers developed dedicated debugging techniques for reactive programming that use the dataflow graph to enable inspections and visualization. In this paper, we adopt reactive debugging as a basis for live modifications and tuning of reactive applications. To this end we extend the debugger to allow live modifications to the dataflow graph in a structured manner to change the application behavior. We also suggest how developers of reactive applications can use such extension to enable flexible tuning of applications at run time. Our early experience shows that the combination of reactive programming and live programming allows modifications and tuning of applications while ensuring safety and consistency guarantees.


This research was aimed to investigate the prevalence and clinical impact of occult HBV infection in thalassemic patients with chronic HCV infection. In this cross-sectional study we have totally examined 60 patients suffering HBV and HCV infections by PCR and RT-PCR methods, respectively, in Kerman province of Iran. ELISA technique (RADIM, Italy) was used to detect anti-HBc, anti-HBs and HBsAg. The serum level of liver enzymes (SGOT, SGPT, DB, TB and ALK) were analyzed in the HCV infected patients (MAN, IRAN). Statistical analyses performed using t-test and Chi-square. We found that 27 cases (out of 60) were infected by HCV but HBV-DNA was not seen in HCV infected patients. Present findings also showed that none of samples were HBsAg positive but 9 (33%) (out of 27) HCV-RNA positive patients were anti-HBc positive and 11 (40.7%) were positive for anti-HBs. We found that SGOT, SGPT, DB, TB and ALK are above normal in 27 (100%), 19(70.3%), 12(44.5%), 15 (55.5%) and 15 (55.5%) RNA-HCV positive patients, respectively. The prevalence of hepatitis C infection is very high in thalassemic patients and based on other studies our results showed that the prevalence of HCV infection in Kerman is more than other provinces of Iran. In contrast with other studies HBV-DNA in these patients could not be detected, hence, it seems that occult HBV infection isn't frequent in Iranian thalassemic patients who suffering from chronic HCV infection.


The aim of this article, the fourth of seven in this series, is to discuss the reporting of patient safety incidents, including near miss events. This article is based on step four of the National Patient Safety Agency's (2004) Seven Steps to Patient Safety. Barriers to reporting are discussed and the associated benefits and limitations are highlighted.


The addition of disconnect switches to a distribution feeder or the replacement of the manual switches with the automatic switches do, in general, increase reliability by decreasing the duration of the outage of many to the customers on the feeder and reducing the outage section. However, the improvement of reliability in power distribution system causes an increase of the investment cost, for example, replacement costs, labor costs, and so on. For this reason - the balance between investment and reliability improvement - many studies about the appropriate level of investment have been conducted. In this paper, we suggest the algorithm for determining the reasonable switch automation rate in the power distribution system. We evaluate the customer interruption cost and reliability for several cases - these cases relate with the switch automation rate - in the domestic metropolitan power distribution system, estimate the effectiveness of changing the manual switch to automatic switch quantitatively. These results can help the determining on the disconnect switch`s automation rate.


This paper presents a study of a free convection flow around the walls of a ventilation mill of the Thermal Power Plant (TPP) "Kostolac B", Kostolac. A combined method consists of thermography and software post-processing, PATS. PATS is specially developed for recognition of turbulence zones by the custom processing of large input data sets from thermal videos. The calculations determine maximum temperature fluctuation i.e. peak-to-peak fluctuation at every spot during the recording time. Three thermal videos of the walls were analyzed. Maximum temperature fluctuation occurred in the zones close to the obstacles, which are thus recognized as one of the main sources of turbulence. Besides, PATS has recognized fine camera oscillations and mechanical movements of a flexible material near the dozer wall. The detected zones of turbulence correspond to the previous studies and to the theory. The method shows good potential in the field of free convective flow research through the improvement of testing efficiency and cost savings. State-of-the-art thermograph cameras and updated software are recommended.


Context: The Food Safety and Standards Act have redefined the roles and responsibilities of food regulatory workforce and calls for highly skilled human resources as it involves complex management procedures. Aims: 1) Identify the competencies needed among the food regulatory workforce in India. 2) Develop a competency-based training curriculum for food safety regulators in the country. 3) Develop training materials for use to train the food regulatory workforce. Settings and Design: The Indian Institute of Public Health, Hyderabad, led the development of training curriculum on food safety with technical assistance from the Royal Society for Public Health, UK and the National Institute of Nutrition, India. The exercise was to facilitate the implementation of new Act by undertaking capacity building through a comprehensive training program. Materials and Methods: A competency-based training needs assessment was conducted before undertaking the development of the training materials. Results: The training program for Food Safety Officers was designed to comprise of five modules to include: Food science and technology, Food safety management systems, Food safety legislation, Enforcement of food safety regulations, and Administrative functions. Each module has a facilitator guide for the tutor and a handbook for the participant. Essentials of Food Hygiene-I (Basic level), II and III (Retail/ Catering/ Manufacturing) were primarily designed for training of food handlers and are part of essential reading for food safety regulators. Conclusion: The Food Safety and Standards Act calls for highly skilled human resources as it involves complex management procedures. Despite having developed a comprehensive competency-based training curriculum by joint efforts by the local, national, and international agencies, implementation remains a challenge in resource-limited setting.


While not touted as a universal panacea for access problems, contingency fees have received general praise as an important and justice-improving initiative.  By back-loading the payment of legal fees, the assumption is that the interests of clients and litigants will be better served.  I challenge that received wisdom.  While the rise of contingency fee agreements between lawyers and clients has increased the number of people who can afford lawyers and make successful claims, the more challenging issue is whether that increase is being achieved at too high a price to clients and litigants – while more people are able to bring a case, which they could not otherwise have done, they will be receiving far less than they might actually be entitled to.  In short, do contingency fees work as much or more to the advantage of lawyers than clients?  I suggest not.


The first report of a transparent conducting oxide (TCO) was published in 1907, when Badeker reported that thin films of Cd metal deposited in a glow discharge chamber could be oxidized to become transparent while remaining electrically conducting. Since then, the commercial value of these thin films has been recognized, and the list of potential TCO materials has expanded to include, for example, Al-doped ZnO, GdInO x , SnO 2 , F-doped In 2 O 3 , and many others. Since the 1960s, the most widely used TCO for optoelectronic device applications has been tin-doped indium oxide (ITO). At present, and likely well into the future, this material offers the best available performance in terms of conductivity and transmissivity, combined with excellent environmental stability, reproducibility, and good surface morphology. The use of other TCOs in large quantities is application-specific. For example, tin oxide is now widely used in architectural glass applications.


Discrete transfer functions for the alpha-beta and alpha-beta-gamma Kalman tracking filters are presented. Filters for the update, as well as the prediction, estimates are considered. Root loci for the poles and zeros are presented, parameterised in the manoeuvring index. Closed-form solutions for the alpha-beta-gamma gains are given as functions of the manoeuvring index.


BACKGROUND
previous studies on mortality of Parkinson's disease (PD) enrolled a relatively small number of participants and were conducted in western countries. The objective of this study was to evaluate mortality rate of PD using a large nationwide cohort in Korea and to evaluate effects comorbidities have on mortality in PD.

METHODS
the nationwide population-based cohort study was conducted using the Korean National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort data. Patients with a primary diagnosis of PD were selected from the database. A matched cohort without PD was enrolled through randomly matching patients by sex, age, year of diagnosis, residential area and income level to the PD group with a ratio of 1:9. The Cox proportional hazard model was used to assess mortality risk between the two cohorts. A logistic regression analysis was used to identify mortality risk factors in PD cohort.

RESULTS
in total, 25,620 patients were enrolled. The Cox proportional regression model had an adjusted hazard ratio of 2.479 [95% confidence interval (CI), 2.272-2.704] for mortality in PD cohort. Comorbidities, such as ischaemic stroke [odds ratios (OR) = 2.314, 95% CI, 1.895-2.824], haemorrhagic stroke (OR = 2.281, 95% CI, 1.466-3.550) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OR = 1.307, 95% CI, 1.048-1.630) were associated with increased mortality, whereas dyslipidemia (OR = 0.285, 95% CI, 0.227-0.358) was negatively correlated with mortality.

CONCLUSION
over the 10 year follow-up period, the PD cohort's mortality rate was 2.5 times higher than the comparison cohort. Understanding the effects that comorbidities have on morality in PD would be useful for predicting mortality in patients with PD.


Background: Necrosis with partial loss of mastectomy flaps is an all-too-common complication of otherwise advantageous skin-sparing mastectomies. Central to the problem of predictable flap viability is the thickness of the skin flaps. Seeking a balance between the preservation of adequate flap thickness and maintenance of oncologic principles, the authors sought guidelines to help the oncologic surgeon identify the non–breast-bearing subcutaneous layer of tissue between the epithelial/dermal tissue of the breast and its parenchyma. Methods: Breast specimens of women receiving reduction mammaplasty were prospectively examined by an experienced, blinded breast pathologist. Subcutaneous tissue thickness was measured from caudal dermis to breast parenchyma and correlated with age, body mass index, and breast specimen weight. Results: No significant correlation was found between body mass index, age, or breast sample weight and the thickness of the subcutaneous tissue. Measurements did reveal a consistent and distinct layer of non–breast-bearing subcutaneous tissue between the dermis and the breast parenchyma, with a median thickness of about 1 cm. Conclusion: Both oncologic safety and a viable skin flap can be achieved if the subcutaneous layer present in most breasts is used as a guide for elevating the skin flaps, with subsequent oncologically safe resection of the cancer-containing breast parenchyma.


The increasing global demands for land resource with increasing population have resulted in occurrence of soil degradation in many regions of the world. Assessment of soil quality has become the basic work for agricultural sustainable development and selecting regional indicators effectively has become very important since there are no standard evaluation methods and universal indicators. In this study, taking the Corn Belt of Northeast China as the study area, seven indicators—obstacle horizon thickness, cation exchange capacity, pH, soil organic matter, total nitrogen, total potassium, and available Fe—were selected to constitute the minimum data set from sixteen indictors of the total data set to assess the soil quality. The soil quality of the study area was dominated by moderate grade, increasing from west to east. The soil quality of Yushu, Changchun and Shuangyang had higher values, and that of Nongan was the lowest. We found that the distribution of cation exchange capacity has a good consistency with the assessment result of the soil quality. Black soils were distributed in the middle part of the study region from north to south and accounted for a higher quality, exactly where the areas of rapid urbanization are located. An ANOVA analysis showed that soil quality in the Corn Belt of Northeast China was greatly affected by topographic factors and agricultural management and climate was not the principal factor affecting soil quality. Though the minimum data set slightly reduced the evaluation accuracy, a large sampling density in our study was able to improve the precision loss that resulted from reducing the number of indicators to a certain extent.


To the Editor.— Adler (222:833, 1972) urges a scientific evaluation of the role of suggestion in the efficacy of acupuncture. He, like others, urges a double-blind study, using as controls acupuncture needles deliberately placed a short distance from "approved sites." Unfortunately, the technique advocated will not work, for the following reason. It is not generally realized that proper placement of acupuncture needles requires the cooperation of the patient. Surface anatomy and depth of insertion are both critical. At a large number of points, paresthesias are elicited; with most other clinically useful points, a sensation of soreness or mild discomfort prompts the patient to exclaim "That's it!" or "Yes, yes!" as the correct location is reached. Only the naive subject could be deceived by the double-blind approach, and then only briefly. An alternative might be to compare results with acupuncture and with hypnosis in the same individual. A high degree of


In the cruise ship industry product development and production activities are really complex and must follow strict rules imposed by naval registries. Designers are frequently required to choose among several alternative solutions (e.g., materials, components, layouts, etc.). Because of time constraints, as a matter of fact, design decisions are made fast and in a reactive way, according to the particular case, without considering decisions made in the past and without using specific decision support tools. The final choice is often left to a single designer's experience, whose selection criteria are unknown and not formalised. As a consequence there is no shared knowledge justifying the reason why a design solution has been chosen and whether it is the best one. We developed and implemented in Fincantieri S.p.A. – a leading company in the cruise ship industry – an original decision support tool, based on value analysis, designers can use to document and formalise their choices. Value analysis is a well known structured method to increase product value and/or cut costs, thus supporting the selection of the most valuable solution by means of objective parameters. We demonstrate that the proposed tool can also facilitate reuse of the available knowledge base on decisional criteria, increase interactions between people (design staff, buyers, shipyard personnel, etc.) involved in different stages of different value analysis projects, and reduce decision time.


Both exposure to higher levels of polluted air and physical inactivity are crucial risk factors for the development and progression of major noncommunicable diseases and, in particular, of cardiovascular disease. In this context, the World Health Organization estimated 4.2 and 3.2 million global deaths per year in response to ambient air pollution and insufficient physical activity, respectively. While regular physical activity is well known to improve general health, it may also increase the uptake and deposit of air pollutants in the lungs/airways and circulation, due to increased breathing frequency and minute ventilation, thus increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Thus, determining the tradeoff between the health benefits of physical activity and the potential harmful effects of increased exposure to air pollution during physical activity has important public health consequences. In the present comprehensive review, we analyzed evidence from human and animal studies on the combined effects of physical activity and air pollution on cardiovascular and other health outcomes. We further report on pathophysiological mechanisms underlying air pollution exposure, as well as the protective effects of physical activity with a focus on oxidative stress and inflammation. Lastly, we provide mitigation strategies and practical recommendations for physical activity in areas with polluted air.


Umbilical metastases from intraperitoneal malignancies are universally referred to Sister Mary Joseph's nodule (SMJN). The most frequent primary tumor sites include the stomach and ovaries. SMJN caused by colon cancer is uncommon. Likewise, carcinoma of the right side colon metastasizing to inguinal lymph nodes is considered almost impossible. To the best of our knowledge, there is no report of right side colon cancer synchronously involving both the umbilicus and inguinal lymph nodes in the literature. We present a case of right side colon cancer (RSCC) metastasizing to the umbilicus and inguinal lymph nodes, which was confirmed by routine pathological evaluation and immuohistochemistry.


Biogeochemical processes associated with sea ice are still inadequately described and poorly represented in models, making it difficult to properly quantify the impacts of climate change in polar regions. Within the framework of the international Scientific Committee of Ocean Research (SCOR) working group 140, BEPSII, a community of sea-ice biogeochemical scientists established guidelines for the measurement of biogeochemical processes in sea ice, collated observed data, synthesized knowledge of sea-ice biogeochemical processes, and identified the feedbacks between biogeochemical and physical processes at the terrestrial-ocean-ice-snow-atmosphere interfaces and within the sea-ice matrix. Many of these results are presented in Elementa's Special Feature on BEPSII. By bringing together experimentalists and modelers, major improvements of sea-ice biochemistry models have been achieved which are anticipated to affect models on micro- to global scales. However, large gaps still exist in our understanding of detailed biogeochemical processes in sea ice, their seasonal evolution and their interactions with surrounding environments. The BEPSII community recommends continued focus on the development of reproducible methods and techniques for reliable inter-study comparisons, to enhance our understanding in areas where gaps have been identified via coordinated process studies combining modeling tools, laboratory experiments and field studies, and on the use of such studies to develop conceptual models helping us to understand the overall system.


We study the effect of nanoindentation induced defects on thin (h = 50 nm) and thick (h = 100 nm) polystyrene (PS) films, spin cast on nonwettable silicon (Si) substrates. Indents with depths of penetration higher than the film thicknesses were imposed. Upon heating above the bulk glass transition temperature (Tg) of PS, some of the indents healed, resulting in a flat polymer surface, and some grew laterally and dewetted the substrate. Our goal is to establish a criterion that can predict the final result (healing or growing) of the indent evolution. We find that the applied force during the nanoindentation and the substrate area exposed to the air after the imposition of an indent can only be used as crude rules, since they do not provide a "cutoff" border, that distinguishes the growing from the healing indents. On the contrary the excess surface energy (ΔFγ) of the system, that is added to the initially flat coating with the formation of an indent, provides a clear critical value, ΔFγ,crit, which separ...


Initial measurement showed that reading LED lighting used in this experiment produced excessive conducted emissions (CE). EMC filter is needed to suppress the CE noise. The LED light is AC powered through a two-wire cable without ground wire, whereas the EMC filter does have ground. Experiments were conducted to find out the attenuation effect of different filter's grounding connection methods. Four cases of grounding connections are measured and compared, i.e. unconnected ground, earth-connected ground, chassis-connected ground, and additional ground plate. Measurements showed that chassis-connected ground had the strongest attenuation effect. Also, for the additional ground plate configuration, it turned out  that larger plates exhibited stronger attenuation compared to smaller plates. Keywords : LED driver, EMC Filter, grounding, impedance, common mode


The quantitative and qualitative aspects of dietary intake are important factors influencing the nutritional status in young children in a developing country. The type of food pattern determines the dietary bulk and nutritional intake in young children. The need for care and value addition to the routine food pattern is increasingly felt as an important component in child health and nutrition. In a developing country like India, ensuring optimal food safety, healthy environment and availability of health services is a target still to be achieved. This project was done to understand the acceptance of low cost, effective and healthy dietary intervention among school children as they are the most vulnerable group to experience health problems related to under nutrition, malnutrition or simple childhood obesity. The aim of study is to examine the acceptance of dietary intervention in primary and higher secondary school children. The value addition was done by providing a dietary intervention of sprouted green gram in quanti ty of 50 gms and 100 gms at a cost INR 2/- and INR 4/- respectively. The dietary intervention was implemented in schools after assessment of their nutritional status, eating habits environmental factor such as parent level of education, commonly preferred food types by children and their parents. Six schools were identified and awareness campaign for a total population of 7200 students was conducted, following which and 2000 children consented to adopt this dietary supplement. The program was monitored for 5 months. The result revealed that 1900 students were consuming sprouted green gram on the regular by adopting it in their daily routine which 95% adoption rate. These school children were interviewed by a team of 8 doctors from Sant Hirdaram Medical College of Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences over a period of 15 days. 45% of the children revealed their liking for sprouts because of its health benefits. 27% of the children revealed the motivation and monitoring of patents as the reason of their regular consumption, and the remaining 28% stated that they were partially influenced by their friends but were unable to describe correctly what influenced them to consume sprouts


Background Cytotoxic (CD8+) T-cells are required for tumor eradication and durable anti-tumor immunity.1 The induction of tumor-reactive CD8+ T-cells is predominately attributed to a subset of dendritic cells (DC) called Batf3-driven DC1, given their robust ability to cross-present antigens for T-cell priming and their role in effector T-cell recruitment.2–4 Presence of the DC1 signature in tumors correlates with improved survival and response to immunotherapies.5–7 Yet, most tumors with a DC1 infiltrate still progress, suggesting that while DC1 can initiate tumor-reactive CD8+ T-cell responses, they are unable to sustain them. Therefore, there is a critical need to identify and engage additional stimulatory DC subsets to strengthen anti-tumor immunity and boost immunotherapy responses. Methods To identify DC subsets that drive poly-functional CD8+ T-cell responses, we compared the DC infiltrate of a spontaneously regressing tumor with a progressing tumor. Multicolor flow immunophenotyping and single-cell RNA-sequencing were used to profile the DC compartment of both tumors. IFNγ-ELISpot was performed on splenocytes to assess for systemic tumor-reactive T-cell responses. Sorted DC subsets from tumors were co-cultured with TCR-transgenic T-cells ex vivo to evaluate their stimulatory capacity. Cross-dressing (in vivo/ex vivo) was assayed by staining for transfer of tumor-derived H-2b MHC complexes to Balb/c DC, which express the H-2d haplotype. Protective systemic immunity was assayed via contralateral flank tumor outgrowth experiments. Results Regressor tumors were infiltrated with more cross-presenting DC1 than progressor tumors. However, tumor-reactive CD8+ T-cell responses and tumor control were preserved in Batf3-/- mice lacking DC1, indicating that anti-tumor immune responses could be induced independent of DC1. Through functional assays, we established that anti-tumor immunity against regressor tumors required CD11c+ DC and cGAS/STING-independent type-I-interferon-sensing. Single-cell RNA-sequencing of the immune infiltrate of regressor tumors revealed a novel CD11b+ DC subset expressing an interferon-stimulated gene signature (ISG+ DC). Flow studies demonstrated that ISG+ DC were more enriched in regressor tumors than progressor tumors. We showed that ISG+ DC could activate CD8+ T-cells by cross-dressing with tumor-derived peptide-MHC complexes, thereby bypassing the requirement for cross-presentation to initiate CD8+ T-cell-driven immunity. ISG+ DC highly expressed cytosolic dsRNA sensors (RIG-I/MDA5) and could be therapeutically harnessed by exogenous addition of a dsRNA analog to drive protective CD8+ T-cell responses in DC1-deficient mice. Conclusions The DC infiltrate in tumors can dictate the strength of anti-tumor immunity. Harnessing multiple stimulatory DC subsets, such as cross-presenting DC1 and cross-dressing ISG+ DC, provides a therapeutic opportunity to enhance anti-tumor immunity and increase immunotherapy responses. References Fridman WH, et al. The immune contexture in human tumours: impact on clinical outcome. Nature Reviews Cancer 2012;12(4): p. 298–306. Hildner K, et al. Batf3 deficiency reveals a critical role for CD8alpha+ dendritic cells in cytotoxic T cell immunity. Science 2008;322(5904):p. 1097–100. Spranger S, et al. Tumor-Residing Batf3 dendritic cells are required for effector T cell trafficking and adoptive T cell therapy. Cancer Cell 2017;31(5):p. 711–723.e4. Roberts, EW, et al., Critical role for CD103(+)/CD141(+) dendritic cells bearing CCR7 for tumor antigen trafficking and priming of T cell immunity in melanoma. Cancer Cell 2016;30(2): p. 324–336. Broz ML, et al. Dissecting the tumor myeloid compartment reveals rare activating antigen-presenting cells critical for T cell immunity. Cancer Cell 2014;26(5): p. 638–52. Salmon H., et al., Expansion and activation of CD103(+) dendritic cell progenitors at the tumor site enhances tumor responses to therapeutic PD-L1 and BRAF inhibition. Immunity, 2016. 44(4): p. 924–38. Sanchez-Paulete AR, et al., Cancer immunotherapy with immunomodulatory anti-CD137 and Anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibodies requires BATF3-dependent dendritic cells. Cancer Discov, 2016;6(1):p. 71–9.


Autobiography and memory as resistance in Adam Small's The Orange Earth The Orange Earth is discussed here as a fictionalised autobiographical account in which the Afrikaans poet and playwright, Adam Small, reflects on the impact of apartheid, creating a counternarrative of a marginalised life during that political system. In the play, presented essentially as a play of ideas, the Coloured main character Johnny Adams, the fictionalised alter ego of the author, plants a bomb that kills a white child and much of the action involves his rationalization of his deed of terror. The play references the cultural and linguistic relationship between Coloured and white Afrikaans-speaking people, and the former's humiliation and exclusion under the apartheid policy. It is argued inter alia that Small's choice of English as a language of literary expression could be interpreted as part of a counterdiscourse on cultural disaffection and political disillusion just as his option of urban violence as a solution to apartheid, his "cry for citizenship", amounts to a desperate act rather than one of revolutionary violence. The article concludes with a discussion on the multiple meanings associated with the title that serves as a metaphor for the countermemory of Small's narrative. Keywords : Adam Small, Afrikaans culture, Afrikaans plays, antiapartheid literature, The Orange Earth , revolutionary violence. Article Text in Afrikaans


Background: The Roma population is one of the major marginalized groups in Europe, having higher incidence of all spectrums of disease and a shorter life expectancy. Yet, the reasons for higher morbidity and its exact prevalence were not properly studied. Objectives: The objective of our study was to compare the frequency of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Roma people to the non-Roma population in Slovakia, and to compare levels of uric acid and its correlation with components of metabolic syndrome. Methods: A group of 452 Roma people aged 18–55 years, was compared to a control group of 403 non-Roma people. The data were obtained by questionnaire, anthropometric measures, and analyzed blood and urine samples Results: The prevalence of MetS was significantly higher among Roma participants (131; 29.6%) compared with non-Roma participants (80; 20.1%), p = 0.001. Roma people significantly more often fulfilled obesity and low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) criteria of MetS (257, 58.9% vs. 180, 45.8%, p < 0.0001, and 312, 70.0% vs. 140, 34.9%, p < 0.0001). There was no difference in the triacylglycerols (TG), glycemia or blood pressure (BP) criteria of MetS. The Roma also presented with greater levels of high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP). Baseline levels of uric acid (UA) among the Roma population were significantly lower compared with the majority population (226.54 ± 79.8 vs. 259.11 ± 84.53) (p < 0.001). The levels of UA significantly correlated with fulfilled criteria of MetS. Univariate regression showed that UA is a significant predictor of MetS in the whole cohort (unadjusted odds ratio (OR) 1.005; 95% CI 1.004–1.007; p < 0.0001) also after the adjustment for age, sex, and ethnicity (adjusted OR 1.008; 95% CI 1.005–1.010; p < 0.0001). Conclusions: We were able to show that prevalence of MetS among the Roma is higher than in the majority population. Moreover, the uric acid levels are significantly lower in the Roma group as well as when it comes to a cohort with MetS. Levels of UA, besides others, depend on ethnicity, age, and sex.


Classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) is one of the most common pediatric solid tumors and is responsible for cancer-related deaths in children. Therefore, to modulate the active antitumor T-cell immune response in cHL can be a treatment strategy. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the expression profiles of selected antitumor immune response genes in pediatric cHL and their relationships with clinical and prognostic parameters to determine their significance in precision medicine. Thirty-nine pediatric nodal cHL patients were enrolled in the study. We analyzed mRNA expression of selected immune response regulatory genes such as PD-L1, CSF2, CTLA4, CXCL5, IDO1, CXCL8, MIF, NOS2, PDCD1, PTGS2, and TGFβ1 using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Only PD-L1 overexpression was statistically related to bulky disease, advanced tumor stage, and high-risk disease category and seen significantly in Epstein-Barr virus–negative pediatric cHL. No expression profiles were correlated with relapse or survival. We conclude that PD-L1 overexpression in pediatric cHL cases is a strong predictor of high-risk categorization. In addition to being a prognostic biomarker, PD-L1 blockade is also a druggable marker for the targeted therapy in Epstein-Barr virus–negative pediatric Hodgkin lymphoma.


Microplastic (MP)-based contaminants in the environment are pervasive, but standard technologies used for MP identification have not yet been reported. Human beings take up MPs from the environmental ecosystem through the food chain without any particular purification. MPs can penetrate into capillaries from the bloodstream, resulting in endocrine system disorders or toxicity. In this review, we introduced several technologies, such as filtration using membranes, biological degradation, electrocoagulation, and removal using nanoparticles, used for the purification of MPs or related contaminants. Current studies of identification methods of MPs and evaluation tests of MPs exposure-based harmfulness in vitro and in vivo were summarized.


The cyclic fluctuation of ultrasonic integrated backscatter(IB) of myocardium has been found to be a potential indicator of clinical significance in the diagnosis of myocardial ischemia. To investigate the feasibility of such a technique, a clinical IB testing system is established in our laboratory. Six male subjects with no history of heart diseases were tested by using this system. Based on the clinical data obtained during the tests, the effects of echo position, bandwidth, and different calculation algorithms on IB value were analyzed and compared. The results are available to provide a guideline for the design of instrumentation for IB detection.


BACKGROUND/AIMS
Whether or not generalists and specialist physicians can make an appropriate adaptation of their practice patterns when caring for their patients currently remains a matter of debate. The present study was undertaken to explore whether the clinical characteristics of hepatocellular carcinoma at its time of detection, the initial treatment options and the survival vary between patients with hepatocellular carcinoma associated with cirrhosis who were treated by hepatologists and those who were treated by non-hepatologists.

METHODOLOGY
A retrospective study with 626 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma associated with cirrhosis was performed. The patients were stratified into three groups as follows; 1) a hepatologist group: 280 patients followed up and treated consistently by hepatologists, 2) a non-hepatologist group: 126 patients followed up and treated consistently by non-hepatologists, and 3) the other group: 220 patients either followed up by hepatologists and treated by non-hepatologists, or vice versa, or those identified to have tumors incidentally without any follow-up. To confirm the clear difference between generalists and specialists, the gender ratio, age, hepatitis B and C virus markers, serum alpha-fetoprotein level, tumor size, the number of tumors, Child's grade, portal thrombosis at the initial detection, the types of follow-up until the initial detection of hepatocellular carcinoma, the initial treatments chosen, and survival were compared between the hepatologist group and the non-hepatologist group.

RESULTS
There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups with respect to gender ratio, age, hepatitis virus markers and the alpha-fetoprotein level. However, the tumor size, the number of tumors, Child's grade and portal thrombosis at the initial detection were more advanced in the non-hepatologist group, which was most likely due to the poorer follow-up until the detection of hepatocellular carcinoma compared with that in the hepatologist group (p value: 0.0237). Regarding therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma, intensive therapies were more often performed in the hepatologist group and, in addition, non-treated cases were less frequently found in the hepatologist group. Consequently, the 1-, 3- and 5-year survivals of the patients in the hepatologist group were 84.7, 61.1 and 35.1%, respectively, which were significantly longer than those in the non-hepatologist group, which were 80.7, 45.8 and 31.8%, respectively (p value: 0.0434).

CONCLUSIONS
Hepatocellular carcinoma patients with cirrhosis who were treated by hepatologists can expect to obtain a longer survival because hepatocellular carcinoma tends to be detected at a smaller size, while such patients also usually receive more appropriate treatment modalities.


Context. Designing an appropriate survey protocol requires understanding of how capture rates of target species may be influenced by factors other than on-ground abundance, such as weather conditions or seasonality. This is particularly relevant for ectotherms such as reptiles, as activity can be affected by environmental conditions such as ambient temperature. Aims. The present study examines factors affecting capture success of reptiles in semi-arid environments of southern Australia, and addresses the following two main questions: (1) what is the influence of weather and seasonal factors on capture rates of reptiles, and (2) what are the implications for developing an effective protocol for reptile surveys? Methods. We surveyed reptiles using pitfall traps in spring and summer of 2006/07 and 2007/08 at sites (n = 280) throughout the Murray Mallee region of south-eastern Australia. We used mixed-effect regression models to investigate the influence of seasonal and weather-related variables on species' capture success. Key results. Total captures of reptiles, and the likelihood of capture of 15 reptile species, increased with rising daily temperature. Greater numbers of individual species were captured during spring than in summer, even though temperatures were cooler. This probably reflects greater levels of activity associated with breeding. Several species were more likely to be captured when maximum or minimum daily temperatures exceeded a certain level (e.g. Lerista labialis, Delma australis, Nephrurus levis). Other factors, such as rainfall and moon phase, also influenced capture success of some species. Conclusions. Surveys for reptiles in semi-arid environments are likely to capture the greatest diversity of species on warm days in late spring months, although surveys on hot days in summer will enhance detection of particular species (e.g. Morethia boulengeri, Varanus gouldii). We recommend trapping during periods with maximum temperatures exceeding 25–30°C and minimum overnight temperatures of 15°C. Finally, trapping during rainfall and full-moon events will maximise chances of encountering species sensitive to these variables (blind snakes and geckoes). Implications. Selecting the most favourable seasonal and weather conditions will help ensure that reptile surveys maximise the likelihood of capturing the greatest diversity of reptiles, while minimising trap-effort required.


The engine-cycle performance of jet engines can be improved by more efficient cooling systems, either by reducing the required cooling air or by intensifying the cooling efficiency with the same amount of cooling mass flow. However, the multitude of geometrical design parameters and the strong multidisciplinary aspect of cooling mass flow consumption optimization make designing the cooling systems extremely challenging. Integrating probabilistic methods into the thermal design process enables the automated evaluation of multiple design variants which contributes to the development of more efficient systems.
 In the present study, the sensitivity of a multi-pass cooling system to geometric variations is investigated. The cooling air flow, solved using a 1D, correlation based flow solver, is iteratively coupled with the 3D-FE thermo-mechanical analysis of the blade. The geometry of the cooling system is varied using the Harmonic-Spline-Deformation parametric, which has been extended to modify the wall thickness enabling to perform a geometrical-holistic analysis. Furthermore, the Elementary-Effects-Method (EEM) and the Monte-Carlo-Simulation (MCS) are compared to identify the most influential parameters and analyze their complex interactions. It is shown that the cooling system's performance is mostly affected by the shape and position of the first web. Furthermore, MCS proves to be robust towards changes in design space while simultaneously enabling a more detailed analysis of the system behavior compared to EEM.


Background: Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is considered the hepatic manifestation of insulin resistance. Therefore, we aimed to assess the association between biopsy-proven liver steatosis and long-term remission of type 2 diabetes (T2D) 8 years following different bariatric procedures.
 Methods: In a retrospective cohort study including 249 patients with and without T2D, the association between biopsy-proven NASH and long-term remission of T2D 8 years following sleeve gastrectomy (SG) and Roux-enY-gastric bypass (RYGB) has been assessed.
 Results: Out of 249 patients, 15.3% showed NASH and T2D at the time of surgery. 8 years after surgery, T2D remission was achieved in 44.7% of patients with NASH compared to 76.0% without NASH. Patients with T2D remission were younger, had higher BMI, displayed lower HbA1c and lower preoperative insulin use (p<0.001) . Patients without remission of T2D showed higher steatosis scores (p<0.05) . In a multivariate logistic regression, higher preoperative HbA1c (OR 0.41) , insulin use (OR 0.16) and preexisting liver fibrosis (OR 0.19) decreased the probability of long-term T2D remission (p<0.05) . Liver steatosis, hepatocyte ballooning or lobular inflammation were not significantly associated with T2D remission. Patients without T2D were predominantly female, of younger age (p<0.001) and displayed lower scores of steatosis, hepatocyte ballooning and lobular inflammation (p<0.05) . With regard to type of surgery, there was no significant difference in T2D remission.
 Discussion and Conclusion: Our data suggest that long-term remission of T2D after bariatric surgery (BS) is associated with lower preoperative insulin use and lower biopsy-proven steatosis scores in patients with NASH. Furthermore, T2D remission might be less likely in patients with liver fibrosis. Type of surgery did not affect T2D remission. Our results might help identify patients with NAFLD who benefit most from BS with regard to glycemic outcomes long-term.

 A.Lautenbach: Advisory Panel; Novo Nordisk, Speaker's Bureau; Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, Novo Nordisk. M.Wernecke: None. S.M.Meyhöfer: None. S.Meyhöfer: None. F.D.Stoll: None. J.Aberel: Advisory Panel; Novo Nordisk, Speaker's Bureau; Novo Nordisk.


This papar compares the results of an embryo culture with those of the usual seed stratification process. One hundred seeds obtained from early ripening peach were stratified either immediately after extraction from fruits (50 seeds) or after exposure to room temperature for 96 hours (50 seeds). Embryos from mature fruits were cultured aseptically in vitro on nutrient media containing the macro and microelements of Murashige & Skoog, inusitol, thiamine, nicotinic acid, glycine, GA3, sucrose and agar at 50C for 50 days. Results showed that the culture media increased the seed germination as compared with the stratification treatments. The embryo-culture technique had the highest percentage of germination and of the seedlings and could well be used in the breeding program to shorten the ripening cycles of peaches.


In network security Intrusion detection systems (IDS) are an important element in a network's defenses to help protect against increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks. Intrusions are nothing but attacks. IDS that rely solely on a database of stored known attacks are no longer sufficient for effectively detecting modern day threats. This paper is basically a research paper on network intrusion detection techniques. And also describes what kind of attack took place. This paper presents a novel anomaly detection technique that can be used to detect previously unknown attacks on a network by identifying attack features. In this paper we discussed about various network intrusion detection techniques like K-means clustering, feature selection and decision tree. This paper also includes various examples from the past and current projects. We hope that this survey will provide a better understanding of the different directions in which research has been done on this topic.


Today fiber Bragg gratings are commonly used in sensing technology as well as in telecommunications. Numerous requirements must be satisfied for their application as a sensor such as the number of sensors per system, the measurement resolution and repeatability, the sensor reusability as well as the sensor costs. In addition current challenges need to be met in the near future for sensing fibers to keep and extend their marketability such as the suitability for sterilization, hydrogen darkening or the separation of strain and temperature (or pressure and temperature). In this contribution we will give an outlook about trends and future of the fiber Bragg gratings in sensing technologies. Specifically, we will discuss how the use of draw tower grating technology enables the production of tailored Bragg grating sensing fibers, and we will present a method of separating strain and temperature by the use of a single Bragg grating only, avoiding the need for additional sensors to realize the commonly applied temperature compensation.


Critical current at 77 K and microhardness measurements were used to study the effect of pressure in uniaxial cold pressing and a press-sinter schedule in Ag-clad Bi(2223) tapes. Three types of tape containing different 2223/2212 phase ratios were prepared by the same powder in tube process and subsequently pressed and sintered in several cycles with rising, constant, and declining pressure. The sintering was performed at constant temperature and time interval in air. The effect of uniaxial cold pressing on critical current density at 77 K is discussed with the aim of finding out its optimal value in every press-sinter state.


The convenience of the Internet in providing access to a vast amount of information about Islam is no longer deniable even among students and faculties in Islamic Studies. The Internet has been frequently used by this category of people to seek information about Islam. On the other hand, the issue relating to the quality of the information made available on the Internet is of great concern. In Islam, it is indeed very important that any fatwa and any scholarly works on Islam should be based on original and reliable sources of information. The question is if the Internet is continued to be one of the major source of information and reference for Islamic Scholars, how do they assess its quality? How do they justify its use? And how do they utilize the information? Using a case study approach with qualitative data gathering technique, this study was conducted to understand the use, perceptions, and opinions of several postgraduate students and faculty members of the department of Arabic and Islamic Studies of the University of Maiduguri, pertaining to information about Hadith on the Internet. The findings indicated that almost all participants have referred to the Internet to get information about Hadith. The analysis of the interviews has revealed the purpose of use, method of assessment used and the underlying issues involved as perceived by the participants. Keywords: Hadith, Information, Quality, Assessment, Internet.


An asymptotically alias-free parallel structure for adaptive filtering applications is considered. The structure promotes the polyphase implementation of a sampling frequency filter bank. Using accumulators in each band as post-filters, the scheme forms a zooming mechanism on alias-free points in the frequency domain. This implies that the bands would become asymptotically uncorrelated which allows independent adaptations in each subband. If sufficient number of bands are used and the input is rich enough, perfect identification of unknown FIR systems is achieved, both analytically and experimentally. The effectiveness of this method in identifying long impulse responses, especially under adverse input coloring and changing environment, makes this structure a viable alternative to available methods. With theoretically proven convergence behavior, this method outperforms the LMS and RLS type algorithms in many cases, some of which are presented in the paper.


The book presents an intensive psychological analysis of Freud's Theory of Mother Fixation as portrayed in D.H. Lawrence's novel 'Sons and Lovers'. This phenomenon originates in the phallic stage out of son's excessive attachment with his mother, and an antagonism towards father. An attempt has been made to explain the nature of Mother Fixation in the personality development of the protagonist, Paul Morel, identifying its impact on the perception of students in Pakistani Universities. Phenomenological research paradigm is adopted. The data is collected through structured, semi-structured, informal and retrospective interviews, identifying the themes and categories that resulted from its content analysis. The study attempts to explain Mother Fixation in the context of our beliefs and cultural mores, analyzing its influence on thoughts, feelings, attitudes and behaviors of students. This phenomenological study concludes that interpretation of the phenomenon of Mother Fixation, in terms of sexuality, is not relevant to Pakistani society so it provokes negative response from readers. Simultaneously, the study encompasses an effective teaching approach of the selected novel.


The reaction of 3-C5H4NCH2NH2 and C6H5COCH2COCH3 affords the title compound, C16H16N2O. The O=C—C=C—N portion is essentially planar [maximum deviation = 0.046 (2) Å] and is aligned at dihedral angles of 22.6 (1) and 78.9 (1)° to the phenyl and pyridyl rings, respectively. The N—H and O=C groups are linked by an intramolecular hydrogen bond. In the crystal, C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds and C—H⋯π interactions occur.


Twenty-three pediatric liver transplant recipients (median age 3.9 years) were converted from cyclosporine A-based immunosuppression to FK506 for uncontrollable acute rejection (AR; n = 16), chronic rejection (n = 4), or predominantly nonspecific hepatitis (n = 3). Of these, 19 had received poly- or monoclonal anti-T lymphocyte antibodies either for AR prophylaxis or therapy before FK506 conversion. Full clinical and histologic responses to FK506 therapy were observed in 11/16 cases of AR compared with 0/7 cases of non-AR indications (P = 0.006). Acute FK506 toxicity included renal dysfunction in 12/23 children (52%), neurological disorders in 7/23 (30%), and isolated hyperkalemia in 2/23 (9%), with a poor correlation with the corresponding FK506 trough plasma level. Moreover, a significant impairment of glomerular filtration rate was recorded in the 12 children who received FK506 treatment for more than 6 months (P = 0.002). FK506 therapy had to be definitively withdrawn in 6 cases (fatal infections: n = 4; persistent tremor: n = 1; reason unrelated to FK506: n = 1). Five children developed a lymphoproliferative syndrome (LPS), leading to death in 3 cases despite cessation of the immunosuppressive therapy; in the other 2 patients, LPS was controlled, and the children were successfully retransplanted for chronic rejection under FK506. The occurrence of Epstein-Barr virus primary infection under FK506 therapy was found to constitute a significant risk factor for LPS (P = 0.027). In summary, full response to FK506 conversion was observed in 69% of uncontrollable AR cases; however, 74% and 22% of this probably over-immunosuppressed population experienced major adverse events and LPS under FK506 therapy, respectively.


In this work, we consider the integration of MPI one-sided communication and non-blocking I/O in HPC-centric MapReduce frameworks. Using a decoupled strategy, we aim to overlap the Map and Reduce phases of the algorithm by allowing processes to communicate and synchronize using solely one-sided operations. Hence, we effectively increase the performance in situations where the workload per process becomes unexpectedly unbalanced. Using a Word-Count implementation and a large dataset from the Purdue MapReduce Benchmarks Suite (PUMA), we demonstrate that our approach can provide up to 23% performance improvement on average compared to a reference MapReduce implementation that uses state-of-the-art MPI collective communication and I/O.


Wind flow above desert surfaces is modified by shrubs, which slow the wind by friction. This study examines the effect of shrub size and spacing on the shape of wind profiles measured above shrubs at sites in the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts. The profile data were reduced to determine the values of the profile parameters, which are the zero plane displacement, d, and aerodynamic roughness parameter, z0. The results show that d is above the tops of the shrubs and z0 is small, indicating that the wind is effectively skimming over the shrubs and encountering little friction from the ground surface and the shrubs. No discernible pattern in the variation of d with shrub spacing is found, though z0 decreases with shrub spacing in a manner consistent with previous studies.


This study aims to determine the development of tantrum children and parental guidance in tackling Tantrum Children in Kuripan Utara Village, Kuripan Lobar District. This research is a descriptive qualitative study with a case study approach. The subject of this study is the parents of children who have the behaviour of tantrums and their neighbours. Data collection techniques used are observation, interviews, documentation. The data analysis techniques are used, namely through data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing. Check the validity of the data by increasing perseverance and using source triangulation. The fndings of this study, namely the development of tantrum children in Kuripan Utara Village, have several developments including (a) physical development, (b) emotional development, (c) cognitive development, (d) social development. While the fndings of parental guidance in dealing with tantrum children are (a) moving to another place, (b) distracting the child, (c) talking softly to the child. In this parent's guidance, the connection with the theory can produce children who will be spared from deviant behaviour when they are big.


PurposeThis paper combines the concepts of search depth and cognitive proximity to investigate the impact of intense collaboration with different external agents on firms' innovation performance. It empirically tests whether firms that draw deeply on cognitively proximate collaborative partners are more innovative than those collaborating intensively with cognitively distant partners. It explores whether the impact of each external agent is equally important in determining the innovation output of firms.Design/methodology/approachUsing data from the Irish Community Innovation Survey 2012–2014, this paper employs a probit model to empirically test the impact of collaboration with cognitively proximate and distant sources of external knowledge to establish whether their impact on innovation performance is uniform.FindingsThe results show that not all collaborators equally impact firm innovation performance. Firms who indicate that knowledge sourced from backward linkages with suppliers is highly important are more likely to engage in both product and process innovation, with the effect more pronounced for the former. The extent of this is greatest for backward linkages compared to forward, horizontal and public linkages. Public linkages have the weakest impact on innovation output which raises questions from a policy perspective given the focus on university–industry collaboration for innovation. The findings indicate that collaboration with cognitively proximate sources of knowledge benefits firms' innovation output.Originality/valueThe study provides empirical evidence on the role of intense collaboration with cognitively proximate and distant external knowledge sources to explore their impact on the subsequent innovation performance of firms. The results can be used to help shape firm-level innovation policy, and indeed national policy, to promote innovation performance.


Rationale and Objectives: Various devices are used to aid in the education of laparoscopic skills ranging from simple box trainers to sophisticated virtual reality trainers. Virtual reality system is an advanced and effective training method, however it is yet to be adopted in India due to its cost and the advanced technology required for it. Therefore, box trainers are being used to train laparoscopic skills. Hence this study was undertaken to assess the overall effectiveness of the box-training course. Study Procedure: The study was conducted during six-day laparoscopic skills training workshops held during 2006. Twenty five surgeons; age range of 26 to 45 years, of either sex, who had not performed laparoscopic surgery before; attending the workshop were evaluated. Each participant was given a list of tasks to perform before beginning the box-training course on day one and was evaluated quantitatively by rating the successful completion of each test. Evaluation began when the subject placed the first tool into the cannula and ended with task completion. Two evaluation methods used to score the subject, including a global rating scale and a task-specific checklist. After the subject completed all sessions of the workshop, they were asked to perform the same tasks and were evaluated in the same manner. For each task completed by the subjects, the difference in the scores between the second and first runs were calculated and interpreted as an improvement as a percentage of the initial score. Statistical Analysis: Wilcoxon matched-paired signed-ranks test was applied to find out the statistical significance of the results obtained. Results: The mean percentage improvement in scores for both the tasks, using global rating scale, was 44.5% ± 6.930 (Mean ± SD). For task 1, using the global rating scale mean percentage improvement was 49.4% ± 7.948 (Mean ± SD). For task 2, mean percentage improvement using global rating scale was 39.6% ± 10.4 (Mean ± SD). Using Wilcoxon matched-paired signed-ranks test, 2-tailed P-value<0.0001 which is extremely significant. Conclusion: This study confirms that a short-term, intensive, focused course does improve laparoscopic skills of trainees. Box-trainers can be used to change the present day didactic training into objective and competency-based. Global rating scale and checklist provide an inexpensive and effective way of objective assessment of performance of laparoscopic skills.


The annual Steel Awards have become, without doubt, the structural steel industry's premier social event. Established 26 years ago to enable 'our peers to share in our projects and to celebrate excellence in the use of steel', the reason for the Steel Awards has not changed. But what has happened is that the event has grown into an important networking occasion. In 2007, some 600 people in Johannesburg and 250 in Durban representing every aspect of the steel construction chain - developers, planners, designers, draughtspeople, quantity surveyors, fabricators, steel makers and retailers, erectors, civil and building contractors and just interested people and their spouses / partners - gathered on the same evening for the announcement of the winners


Background: Otoscopic procedure like tympanoplasty is one of the magic wands that an ear nose throat surgeon possesses to alleviate the suffering of a hearing impaired patient. Endoscopic trans-tympanic pop in technique is an alternative method where tympanic fascial graft is placed medial to tympanic membrane remnant through the perforation without elevation of tympanomeatal flap and angled endoscope is used to assess the ossicular chain. Objective: The study was done to compare the results of endoscope assisted trans-tympanic pop-in tympanoplasty with permeatal underlay tympanoplasty. Methods: The study is a prospective, longitudinal and experimental study conducted in Kathmandu Medical College Teaching Hospital from January 2016 to June 2016. A total of sixty-two patients, thirty-one in study and thirty-one in control group were present. The comparison was made in terms of success rate, decrease in taste sensation and time taken for the procedure. Data analysis was done by SPSS version 20. Categorical data were tested by Fisher Exact test and p-value of <0.005 was considered statistically significant. Result: Among 62 patients, 55 had successful graft uptake (88.7% success rate). Hearing improvement was seen in 51 patients (88.25%). Regarding taste sensation 5 out of 62 had decrease in taste sensation after surgery (8%). Time taken was approximately 30 to 45 minutes (mean =44.1min) in endoscopic transtympanic pop-in type and 60 to 90 minutes (mean =73.8 min) in permeatal underlay type. Conclusion: We can conclude that endoscopic trans-tympanic pop-in tympanoplasty gives similar hearing and graft uptake result but with less time and greater ease as compared to permeatal underlay technique.


Abstract. Between 1839 and 1849, the architect Gaetano Cima built a very interesting neoclassical church with a central plan, covered by a dome about 20 meters in diameter in Guasila (in the province of Cagliari, Italy). Already during the construction, Cima highlighted a series of problems related to the quality of the materials used, the technical skills of the builders, and the cost-cutting measures taken during construction, which proved to be the cause of the deterioration that characterised the life of the building and the numerous restorations works that have occurred over time. Faced with this situation, the Municipality of Guasila has commissioned a group of researchers from the DICAAR (Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering) of the University of Cagliari to carry out a multidisciplinary study aimed at defining in a complete and exhaustive way the state of conservation of the church. Overall, this study concerned historical-critical analysis, geometric-architectural survey, structural survey and analysis, analysis of materials and the study of foundations involving architectural historians, geomatics, structuralists, petrographers and geophysicists.In detail, this paper presents the integrated results obtained from archival research on the restoration works, the close range photogrammetric (CRP) and minero-petrographic surveys performed for implementing the knowledge of the painted dome of this basilic, characterised by several static problems since its construction. The support of the three fields of research has allowed not only to define an in-depth level of information concerning the origins of the issues in terms of geometries, materials and building techniques for the design of future interventions of conservation of the structures, but also to define potentialities and accuracy of this interoperable approach in the study of other similar case studies.


Abstract Four experiments were conducted with purified diets to examine the influence of protein level and to estimate the sulfur amino acid (S.A.A.) requirement of young Bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus). These studies demonstrated (1) that 26% protein was sufficient for rapid growth when the diet was supplemented with methionine; (2) that diets containing higher levels of protein (29.3% and 31.3%) failed to support satisfactory growth unless they contained supplemental methionine; and (3) that young Bobwhite quail require no more than 1.0% sulfur-containing amino acids for optimal growth and efficiency of feed utilization. A fifth experiment was conducted to examine the protein and S.A.A. requirements of young Bobwhite quail using practical rations and to compare results with those obtained with purified diets. Diets containing 24%, 26% and 28% protein were supplied with and without supplemental methionine in a five week study. Results showed significant growth responses to protein and supplemental methionine. Responses showed that Bobwhite quail require no more than 26% protein for maximum growth and efficiency of feed utilization when the S.A.A. level of the diet was approximately 1.0%. The results were in close agreement with those obtained with purified diets. These findings define more precisely than had been known the quantitative requirements of young Bobwhite quail for protein and for the S.A.A. necessary for optimal growth.


BACKGROUND
Diseases and abnormal physiologic conditions can alter the concentrations of enzymes, metabolites, minerals, and hormones in the blood of animals. The ringed seal (Pusa hispida) has been selected as a key species for environmental monitoring, but information on disease and health parameters for this species is scarce.

OBJECTIVES
The aim of the study reported here was to obtain serum chemistry reference intervals for free-ranging ringed seals in Svalbard, and then to evaluate serum chemistry values in relation to age, body condition, and sex.

METHODS
Blood samples were collected after death from ringed seals in Wijdefjorden and Billefjorden, Svalbard (2002-2003; n = 75). Serum was analyzed for 24 selected serum chemistry parameters (enzymes, protein, metabolites, minerals, and cortisol).

RESULTS
Compared with younger or older animals, seals between 7 and 16 years of age had larger variations in the activities of alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, lactate dehydrogenase, and creatine kinase (CK). Animals classified as having low body condition status had more variation in the serum activity of these enzymes, compared with that in animals with higher condition scores. Serum cortisol concentration was higher in young animals (1-5 years) than in older animals. Serum CK activity was higher in males than in females.

CONCLUSION
The data reported here may be useful in monitoring the health of ringed seals and for tracking the impact of environmental changes in the Arctic.


We have surveyed approximately 40 deg2 surrounding M33 with Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope MegaCam/MegaPrime in the g and i filters out to a maximum projected radius from this galaxy of 50 kpc, as part of the Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey (PAndAS). Our observations are deep enough to resolve the top ∼4 mag of the red giant branch population in this galaxy. We have previously shown that the disk of M33 is surrounded by a large, irregular, low surface brightness substructure. Here, we quantify the stellar populations and structure of this feature using the PAndAS data. We show that the stellar populations of this feature are consistent with an old population with 〈[Fe/H]〉 ∼ −1.6 dex and an interquartile range in metallicity of ∼0.5 dex. We construct a surface brightness map of M33 that traces this feature to μV ≃ 33 mag arcsec−2. At these low surface brightness levels, the structure extends to projected radii of ∼40 kpc from the center of M33 in both the northwest and southeast quadrants of the galaxy. Overall, the structure has an "S-shaped" appearance that broadly aligns with the orientation of the H i disk warp. We calculate a lower limit to the integrated luminosity of the structure of −12.7 ± 0.5 mag, comparable to a bright dwarf galaxy such as Fornax or Andromeda II and slightly less than 1% of the total luminosity of M33. Further, we show that there is tentative evidence for a distortion in the distribution of young stars near the edge of the H i disk that occurs at similar azimuth to the warp in H i. The data also hint at a low-level, extended stellar component at larger radius that may be an M33 halo component. We revisit studies of M33 and its stellar populations in light of these new results and discuss possible formation scenarios for the vast stellar structure. Our favored model is that of the tidal disruption of M33 in its orbit around M31.


Has the science of ecology fulfilled the promises made by the originators of ecological science at the start of the last century? What should ecology achieve? Have good policies for environmental management flowed out of ecological science? These important questions are rarely discussed by ecologists working on detailed studies of individual systems. Until we decide what we wish to achieve as ecologists we cannot define progress toward those goals. Ecologists desire to achieve an understanding of how the natural world operates, how humans have modified the natural world, and how to alleviate problems arising from human actions. Ecologists have made impressive gains over the past century in achieving these goals, but this progress has been uneven. Some sub-disciplines of ecology are well developed empirically and theoretically, while others languish for reasons that are not always clear. Fundamental problems can be lost to view as ecologists fiddle with unimportant pseudo-problems. Bandwagons develop and disappear with limited success in addressing problems. The public demands progress from all the sciences, and as time moves along and problems get worse, more rapid progress is demanded. The result for ecology has too often been poor, short-term science and poor management decisions. But since the science is rarely repeated and the management results may be a generation or two down the line, it is difficult for the public or for scientists to decide how good or bad the scientific advice has been. In ecology over the past 100 years we have made solid achievements in behavioural ecology, population dynamics, and ecological methods, we have made some progress in understanding community and ecosystem dynamics, but we have made less useful progress in developing theoretical ecology, landscape ecology, and natural resource management. The key to increasing progress is to adopt a systems approach with explicit hypotheses, theoretical models, and field experiments on a scale defined by the problem. With continuous feedback between problems, possible solutions, relevant theory and experimental data we can achieve our scientific goals.


Using stylistic, formal and thematic criteria, Paffenroth reconstructs a pre-Lukan source (L) for much of the unique material in Luke 3-19. This source portrays Jesus primarily as a healer and teller of parables, a portrayal very different from that of the suffering Son of Man in Mark, the aphoristic teacher of Wisdom in Q, or the depiction of Jesus as universal saviour that Luke himself prefers. This source is quite primitive, probably earlier than Mark, perhaps as early as Q, to which it is quite similar in form, if not content.


: The paper emphasizes the importance of tissue malformations (dyschronias) in the development of immunodeficiency states in extremely low birth weight neonates. Thymuses from 115 fetuses at 22-27 weeks post-conception age were examined by immunohistochemical and electron microscopic studies. Two types of thymic structural changes were identified in fetuses developing during transplacental infection. The differential diagnostic signs of thymic tissue malformations were justified in extremely low birth weight fetuses.


Introduction
Horace is often placed at the opposite end of the spectrum to Catullus in discussions on Latin lyric love poetry. In this oversimplified view, the poets represent vastly different interpretations of love and the poetic process, Catullus being the prototype Sturm und Drang poet while Horace embodies calm and self-detachment.This essay explores contemporary views on Horace's approach to writing about love, and proposes that an over-emphasis on Horace's political views and interest in public matters has led to a disregard for his views on love. It is further argued that a comparison between Horace's love poetry and that of Catullus is an unjust categorisation which does little to acknowledge Horace's versatile and developmental approach to lyric poetry. Finally, Horace's self-detachment is seen to be the most effective means through which he succeeds in connecting with the experiences of his reader.


The effect of lipids on the enzymic breakdown of starch was investigated using an in vitro assay system. Mixtures of potato amylose, amylopectin and starch and various lipids were incubated at 37 degrees C for 10 min and subjected to digestion by alpha-amylase (EC 220.127.116.11) and amyloglucosidase (EC 22.214.171.124). Lauric, myristic, palmitic and oleic acids and lysolecithin inhibited enzymic hydrolysis of amylose by approximately 35% (P < 0.05). Stearic acid and cholesterol had no effect on the enzymic breakdown of amylose. Retrograded amylose was hydrolyzed less readily (P < 0.05) than solubilized amylose, but the breakdown was not further inhibited in the presence of lauric acid. Fatty acids had no effect on the enzymic hydrolysis of amylopectin, whereas inhibition by fatty acids of the breakdown of whole starch was consistent with only the amylose fraction being affected. The possibility that interactions between starch and fatty acids in the digestive tract could contribute to the formation of resistant starch is considered.


Adult granulosa cell tumor (AGCT) is a low-grade malignant neoplasm with a significant propensity for late recurrence and metastasis. Almost all AGCTs are composed of cells with bland nuclear features and even when these tumors recur or metastasize, the nuclear features are almost always low-grade. We report 5 cases of AGCT in patients aged 37 to 88 years composed of areas of typical AGCT with low-grade morphology admixed with areas of high-grade morphology, with marked nuclear atypia, often with bizarre multinucleate cells and high mitotic activity; this is the first reported series of high-grade transformation in AGCTs. The high-grade areas often morphologically closely resembled juvenile granulosa cell tumor with abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm, significant mitotic activity, and intermediate sized follicles. Four cases were FIGO stage IA at diagnosis and 1 was stage IIIC with omental involvement. FOXL2 mutation analysis of both the morphologically low-grade and high-grade areas in 4 of 5 cases confirmed the presence of missense point mutation, c.402C>G, p.(Cys134Trp), providing conclusive evidence that the high-grade component represents transformation of typical AGCT rather than the coexistence of another sex cord-stromal tumor, such as juvenile granulosa cell tumor, which has been suggested for such neoplasms. In 3 of 4 cases where immunohistochemistry was undertaken, there was a striking difference between the p53 staining in the low-grade and high-grade components with wild-type staining in the former and diffuse mutation-type immunoreactivity in the latter, suggesting that TP53 mutation is likely to play a role in high-grade transformation. TP53 mutation analysis covering exons 4 to 10 was undertaken in 4 cases and TP53 mutations were identified in the high-grade component of 2 of the cases. In 1 case, there was diffuse block-type p16 staining in the high-grade component. Follow-up in the 4 stage IA neoplasms revealed no evidence of tumor recurrence in 3 (6 to 9 mo follow-up) while the other patient developed mediastinal, peritoneal, and pulmonary metastasis 17 months after diagnosis. High-grade transformation is uncommon in AGCTs and given that one of our cases was advanced stage at diagnosis, another exhibited widespread metastasis within a short period and there have been occasional case reports of aggressive behavior in AGCTs with high-grade transformation, this event may herald an aggressive clinical course.


As retailers are increasingly turning to museum and art gallery inspired techniques for displaying luxury products (museological display formats), we investigate whether such staging elicits more favorable product evaluations. Providing an extension to Hagtvedt and Patrick's (2008) classic art infusion effect, we propose that artistic essence is transferred to displayed merchandise via a second-order spillover effect, enhancing its perceived luxury to consumers. Across three experiments, the museological display format outperformed a more conventional, non-museological product display. Consumers reported higher purchase intentions, via a process whereby the merchandise was first perceived as being more luxurious and then less risk inducing. Explanations for why the museological display heightened perceptions of product luxury relating to service expectations, contamination, and visual appeal were also tested, but support for the extended art infusion effect remained undiminished.


The detection of satellites around extrasolar planets, so called exomoons, remains a largely unexplored territory. In this work, we study the potential of detecting these elusive objects from radial velocity monitoring of self-luminous, directly imaged planets. This technique is now possible thanks to the development of dedicated instruments combining the power of high-resolution spectroscopy and high-contrast imaging. First, we demonstrate a sensitivity to satellites with a mass ratio of 1%–4% at separations similar to the Galilean moons from observations of a brown-dwarf companion (HR 7672 B; K mag = 13; 0.″7 separation) with the Keck Planet Imager and Characterizer (R ∼ 35,000 in the K band) at the W. M. Keck Observatory. Current instrumentation is therefore already sensitive to large unresolved satellites that could be forming from gravitational instability akin to binary star formation. Using end-to-end simulations, we then estimate that future instruments such as the Multi-Object Diffraction-limited High-resolution Infrared Spectrograph, planned for the Thirty Meter Telescope, should be sensitive to satellites with mass ratios of ∼10−4. Such small moons would likely form in a circumplanetary disk similar to the Jovian satellites in the solar system. Looking for the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect could also be an interesting pathway to detecting the smallest moons on short orbital periods. Future exomoon discoveries will allow precise mass measurements of the substellar companions that they orbit and provide key insight into the formation of exoplanets. They would also help constrain the population of habitable Earth-sized moons orbiting gas giants in the habitable zone of their stars.


The relevancy of the oedometer test used for the prediction of wetting-induced deformations in embankments is examined. Single-and double oedometer tests are carried out. A comparison between laboratory tests and geotechnical centrifuge modelling at 100 × g conducted to examine an inundated embankment made of a sand-clay mixture is made. A 20-cm high embankment model is built and instrumented. The material is compacted on the "dry side" of the optimum Proctor curve at a low compaction rate in order to emphasize settlement phenomena. The inundation simulation is conducted in two successive sequences during centrifuge flight up to a water table of five centimetres. The results prove that the prediction of the dry density after settlement due to inundation is good.


Diabetes is considered as one of the main comorbidities linked to the severity of respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. For people living with diabetes, even a minor illness can lead to dangerously high blood sugar levels. This may cause life-threatening complications, such as diabetic ketoacidosis or a hyperosmolar hyperglycaemic state. Literature has been found that 20–50% affected patients of COVID-19 pandemic are diabetic. Diabetic patients are highly affected due to increased viral entry into the cell, decrease immunity. Here are several hypotheses to explain the increased incidence and severity of COVID-19 infection in people with diabetes. Several cytokines are liberated in diabetics which can play a more deleterious role in Covid-19 infection. The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV2, coronavirus pandemic highlights the importance of understanding shared disease pathophysiology, potentially informing therapeutic choices in individuals with Type 2 diabetes. Thus, knowledge about the potential mechanisms in between diabetes & the novel coronavirus is of utmost importance To managed diabetes, and individuals need to face challenges in the current trends in this pandemic crisis. For oral health professional, the management of diabetes should follow the protocol for the treatment of individuals with diabetes. This review illustrates the mechanisms by which diabetes modulates the host-viral interaction, host-immune responses and guidelines to manage during an illness.


Although running water is the dominant geomorphic agent on Earth, eolian processes can gain ascendancy in regions where the climate is arid, vegetation is sparse, and abundant sand is available for transport. With climate change, the boundaries between fluvial-dominated and eolian-dominated areas may shift. Although there have been few reports in the North American literature of river systems blocked by dune sand, our work in the Nebraska Sand Hills provides evidence of multiple episodes of such blockage events. During prolonged arid intervals in latest Pleistocene and middle Holocene time, eolian dune sand blocked two large valley systems in western Nebraska. These blockages raised the water table of the High Plains aquifer as much as 25 m over an area of 7000 km2 and created over one thousand lakes. Wetlands far removed from the discharge points of the buried paleovalley system are strongly alkaline (exceeding 250 000 mg/L total dissolved solids [TDS]). Relatively fresh (280 mg/L TDS), flow-through lakes are present at the distal end of the system where the gradient of the water table is steep and the cross section of the buried valley is large. Anomalously thick marsh and lake sediments accumulated in deep paleovalleys upstream of dune dams near the southern margin of the Sand Hills. Our cores and radiocarbon dates from Blue and Crescent Lakes reveal their histories to be quite distinct from adjacent Swan Lake; these differences are best explained by multiple blockage events. Our work explains why lakes are most abundant in the driest part of the Sand Hills. It also provides another line of evidence for major dune activity in the Sand Hills region during Holocene time and shows that factors other than regional climate, specifically location, height, and hydraulic conductivity of dune dams, can control the rise and fall of the ground-water table and the chemistry of lakes.


Military uniforms as the identity of a country have special features of certain colors or patterns. Identification of these characteristics can be done with digital image processing analysis. One of the military uniform recognition method using Hue Color Histogram. The Hue Color Histogram method is less precisely used when there is light intensity against the object that will affect the distribution of color values. So that different objects will be the same descriptions due to having the same color composition. In this paper proposes a combination method of eccentricity and metrics where the advantages of this method are the value of eccentricity and metrics of an object will not change even though the position of the object is rotated angle. The image used is Loreng TNI uniform. The test results from 80 loreng image data obtained 87.5% accuracy and accuracy with other image data results accuracy 92.1% indicating the competitiveness of this method.


The parasitic interconnection capacitance can significantly degrade the performance of an IC. In this paper, the parasitic capacitance of the top leads with a protective overcoat (PO) dielectric is modeled. For a nitride only PO, the nitride increases the line-to-line capacitance component by the average of the nitride and underlying oxide dielectric constants with a maximum error of 11% according to two-dimensional numerical simulations. If the oxide thickness of the PO is greater than 0.2 mu m, then the line-to-ground component of capacitance will be within 10% of the value of a lead surrounded by oxide. The line-to-line component of capacitance can have an error of over 30% and a modification is required to reduce the error. Two modifications for the nitride/oxide PO are given; both increase the line-to-line capacitance by the fraction of nitride between the leads. The results of the modifications and simulation are compared to experiment. The two-dimensional simulations and formulas have a good fit to the experimental data. >