This article proposes a theoretical framework, the Capacity-building Paradox, which defines individual relationship work as the basis for capacity building. It explains why capacity building has hitherto been largely unsuccessful. 'Relationship work' is central to the functions of practitioners. It consists of both 'dependent work' and 'friendship work', the latter synonymous with capacity building. To do relationship work, practitioners require power, in order to overcome environmental obstacles. Financial resources emerge as the predominant environmental influence, often prompting practitioners to use dependent work rather than friendship work. This results in a reduction in capacity and does not contribute to sustainable development. Most of the current literature provides organisational and institutional tools for capacity building. While there is an increasing recognition of the centrality of personal relationships in this work, there is as yet no theoretical framework within which to locate it. The article presents original research into people's experiences of capacity-building work in a development context and proposes a conceptual model that may have important implications for capacity-building practice.


Tailor (Pomatomus saltatrix) is an important commercial and recreational species. Published and unpublished information on the reproductive biology and seasonal migrations of P. saltatrix in southern Queensland are summarized for 1978-93. Gonad index (GI) data from commercial ocean beach catches gave mean monthly values for fish ≥ 250 LCF (length to caudal fork; n = 389), decreasing from January to April before increasing to a peak in November. R saltatrix taken on Fraser Island in September and on South Stradbroke Island in November had high GI values. Adult fish in spawning condition were captured, tagged and released (n = 7090) on Fraser Island beaches in 1978-80 and 1987-89. Most tagged fish dispersed southward, being recaptured within 400 km of the tagging point. Gonad maturity at tag release and recapture locations and egg concentrations in plankton tows identified a major spawning area for P. saltatrix as the inshore waters between Indian Head and Waddy Point, Fraser Island. Although it is generally accepted that the eggs and/or larvae move southward with the East Australian Current (EAC), distribution and movement of larval P. saltatrix in Queensland waters are not known. Juveniles inhabit and move extensively throughout estuaries to the south of Fraser Island until recruitment as adults on ocean beaches. Recent stock management strategies in Queensland include a minimum legal size of 300 mm (total length), an annual one-month (September) closure to all forms of fishing in the spawning area identified on Fraser Island and input controls on fishing effort of commercial ocean-beach net fishers. Bag limits for recreational anglers may be introduced.


Motivation This research takes a multi agent perspective while simulating knowledge diffusion mechanism in science. Multi agent systems are systems that are composed of a large number of autonomous agents that are capable of interacting with each other. The autonomous agents are not controlled by a central mechanism, instead, their decision taking logics are part of their actions and they are decentralized, hence, they are able to make decisions in order to accomplish individual tasks (Wooldridge, 2009). In this research, a scientist who is situated within a coauthorship network is considered as an individual autonomous agent. Her decision process at picking another scientist to co-author a paper and outcome of such an interaction builds up our multi-agent system. In a science network, if two scientists work on the same paper, then they are considered connected. The social interaction linkage between them is a possible channel for knowledge diffusion. In our model, each author is considered as an agent that is capable of working with other authors, choosing whom to work with and what subject to work on. In order to set-up initial environment of our multiagent system we need to identify initial coauthorship network, as well as, we need to represent knowledge space of each individual author in the network. In order to capture a representation of an individual's expertise a set of keywords, which is driven from publications of the author is used to form the node set of the semantic network of that very individual. The semantic relations, namely the links, in between the keywords in the set are established by their cooccurrence on a published article. There are a number of challenges at designing interaction and evolution of such multi agent system. The challenges are (i) being able to incorporate a dynamic social network perspective while modelling interactions in between agents, (ii) designing, simulating and examining various knowledge creation and diffusion mechanisms as the outcomes of agent-agent interactions. The first challenge addresses a problem within multi-agent modelling research area. Computational simulation of social systems falls short at covering dense and multitude interactions in between actors. Majority of agent-agent interactions are implicitly and limitedly modelled via agent-agent interactions using environmental variables. This limitation is partly due to complexities at agent-agent interactions and mainly due to lack of empirically validated interaction mechanisms. In this work, we borrow and adopt models from social network literature. More specifically, we examine coauthorship networks and empirically validated interaction models within the field. In the second challenge, we take a socio-cognitive approach. We model and exploit cognitive structure of each agent both at the incentives of individuals to select other agents to collaborate and at modelling the outcome of resulting interactions. Namely, agents purposefully interact to create and transfer new knowledge. In addition to challenges mentioned above there are several implementation challenges to be addressed for the simulation model. First of all, not all agents in the population interact with each other at each run and preferences of interaction cannot be uniformly random. In the model, those ones who decide to collaborate compute the set of candidate collaborators autonomously. An agent's current knowledge space, and his/her ego network are taken into consideration at incentives to collaborate. For instance, literature suggests that repetition of joint collaborations follows a power law distribution (Morris & Goldstein, 2007) mimicking power law distribution of individual publication productivity. Likewise, propensity to collaborate with collaborator of an existing co-author is incorporated adopting transitivity property of social ties (Wellman, 1988). Another empirically validated model of social tie formation mechanism that is adopted is "preferential attachment". It is known that in a complex social network probability of a node to have a new connection is proportional to the connections it already has (Barabasi, 2002). At each round of the simulation each agent independently determines a candidate set of collaborators. This candidate set is formed employing above-mentioned mechanisms. A second implementation challenge is how to incorporate knowledge of individual agents. Dynamic social network mechanism does not take actual knowledge space of individual into consideration. In other words, knowledge space of individuals does not play a direct role on the interactions. Besides, while social interaction mechanisms hint whom to pick to collaborate it


Successful performance of transthoracic needle biopsy of pulmonary nodules under computed tomographic (CT) guidance requires both accurate placement of the needle tip within the nodule and withdrawal of an adequate sample from the lesion. Failure to complete the biopsy procedure or to establish a definitive tissue diagnosis may be due to a number of factors. Potential pitfalls in transthoracic needle biopsy include technical factors related to the patient, CT scanning, or the biopsy needle; factors related to the size, location, or internal characteristics of the nodule or to an abnormality within adjacent parenchyma; and complications that may occur during transthoracic needle biopsy, such as pneumothorax or parenchymal hemorrhage. Awareness of how these pitfalls may be avoided or minimized should help expedite the performance of transthoracic needle biopsy and increase the likelihood of a diagnostic result.


OBJECTIVE: A 1-hour plasma glucose level ≥ 8.6 mmol/L in a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test has been strongly associated with increased morbidity and mortality in outpatients without diabetes. Our primary aim was to evaluate the 1-hour plasma glucose level in a 75 g glucose tolerance test in survivors of critical illness with stress hyperglycaemia at 3 months after intensive care unit (ICU) discharge, with the secondary aims to evaluate the 2-hour plasma glucose level, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), and gastric emptying. DESIGN: Post hoc analysis of a single-centre, prospective cohort study. SETTING: Single-centre, tertiary referral, mixed medical-surgical ICU. PARTICIPANTS: Consecutively admitted patients aged ≥ 18 years who developed stress hyperglycaemia and survived to hospital discharge were eligible. INTERVENTIONS: Participants returned at 3 months after ICU discharge and underwent a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: One- and 2-hour post load plasma glucose level, HbA1c, and assessment of gastric emptying via an isotope breath test. RESULTS: Thirty-five patients (12 females; mean age, 58.5 years [SD, 10.5]; mean HbA1c, 37.4 mmol/mol [SD, 7.0]) attended the follow-up. In 32/35 patients (91%) the 1-hour post load plasma glucose level was ≥ 8.6 mmol/L. There was a positive correlation between the plasma glucose level at 1 hour (r2 = 0.21; P = 0.006), but no correlation between the 2-hour glucose level (r2 = 0.006; P = 0.63) and gastric emptying. CONCLUSION: Glucose intolerance, when defined as 1-hour glucose level ≥ 8.6 mmol/L following a 75 g oral glucose load, persists at 3 months in most survivors of stress hyperglycaemia and is dependent on the rate of gastric emptying. Longitudinal studies to characterise mechanisms underlying dysglycaemia and progression to diabetes in individuals with stress hyperglycaemia are indicated.


A quantum control method is presented for designing electric fields of laser pulses to drive a chiral molecular motor in desired, rotational directions. Intuitive or counter-intuitive rotational motion of a chiral motor, 2-chloro-5-methyl-cyclopenta-2,4-dienecarbaldehyde, was controlled by electric fields of ps-laser pulses with mid-infrared central frequencies. The control mechanism is discussed by analyzing the time- and frequency-resolved spectrum of the electric fields of the laser pulses. Timing of laser pulses is the essential factor for controlling unidirectional motions.


Controlled-source electromagnetic-conductivity profiles and maps were obtained on the Brazos Valley, Texas, floodplain to study the fractal statistics of geologic noise and the effects of man-made conductive metal targets. Fourier transform, discrete wavelet transforms, and variogram analyses were used. Targets tend to flatten the power-law power spectrum at small wavenumbers and shift power to higher wavenumbers. Detection and localization of targets can be achieved using wavelet spectrogram techniques. Additionally, variograms from pure background conductivity maps show a power-law trend for all lags, whereas, in the presence of targets, a short power-law trend is followed by a sill corresponding to a loss in spatial correlation. A simple preprocessing step that combines responses from two perpendicular transmitter-receiver orientations enhances the localization of targets and rejects background signals in profiles and 2D apparent-conductivity maps. Finally, a field example shows how the use of wavelet filtering is able to separate target responses from the geologic background.


Abstract We propose a dynamic hyperintensional logic of belief revision for non-omniscient agents, reducing the logical omniscience phenomena affecting standard doxastic/epistemic logic as well as AGM belief revision theory. Our agents don't know all a priori truths; their belief states are not closed under classical logical consequence; and their belief update policies are such that logically or necessarily equivalent contents can lead to different revisions. We model both plain and conditional belief, then focus on dynamic belief revision. The key idea we exploit to achieve non-omniscience focuses on topic- or subject matter-sensitivity: a feature of belief states which is gaining growing attention in the recent literature.


An analytic proof is given for the author's product formula for Jacobi polynomials and a new integral representation is obtained for the product $J_\alpha (x)J_\beta (y)$ of two Bessel functions. Similarly, a product formula for Jacobi polynomials due to Dijksma and the author is derived in an analytic way. The proofs are based on Bateman's work on special solutions of the biaxially symmetric potential equation. The paper concludes with new proofs for Gasper's evaluation of the convolution kernel for Jacobi series and for Watson's evaluation of the integral\[\int_0^\infty {J_\alpha (\lambda x)J_\beta (\lambda y)J_\beta (\lambda z)\lambda ^{1 - \alpha } d\lambda .} \]


This paper studies the effects of distortionary taxes and public investment in an endogenous growth OLG model with knowledge transmission. Fiscal policy affects growth in two respects: first, work time reacts to variations of prospective tax rates and modifies knowledge formation; second, public spending enhances labour efficiency but also stimulates physical capital through increased savings. It is shown that Ramsey-optimal policies reduce savings due to high tax rates on young generations, and are not necessarily growth-improving with respect to a pure private system. Non-Ramsey policies that shift the burden on adults are always growth-improving due to crowding-in effects: the welfare of all generations is unambiguously higher with respect to a private system, and there generally exists a continuum of non-optimal tax rates under which long-run growth and welfare are higher than with the Ramsey-optimal policy.


Interaction of concentrated acidic uranyl-bearing solutions at initial values of pH of 2.5 and 4.5 with calcite at 25°C in an open system results in formation of schoepite, becquerelite and wyartite-II. Interaction of similar solutions with calcite at 100°C results in the formation of dehydrated schoepite after one day and becquerelite after two to three days. Concentrated basic uranyl-bearing solutions in contact with calcite at 25°C in an open system produce uranyl-bearing calcite, wyartite-II, becquerelite and schoepite. Uranyl tricarbonate minerals such as liebigite precipitate on calcite only in more highly concentrated basic solutions. The crystal morphologies of almost all of these minerals were recorded on the calcite surface with an atomic force microscope (AFM). Red crystals of becquerelite grown in acidic solutions are elongate parallel to [010], and the (001) face is defined by the [010], [110] and [100] edges. The (001) face of pink crystals of wyartite-II grown in an acidic solution is defined by the [120], [100] and [120] edges and has striations parallel to [100]. Under basic conditions, uranyl-bearing calcite precipitates as growth hillocks in the first few minutes of the experiments. Green crystals of liebigite are attached to the calcite surface via their (001) or (010) faces. The (001) face of pink-to-violet crystals of wyartite-II grown in basic solutions is defined by the [100], [110], [120], [230] and [010] edges. Small red crystals of becquerelite grown in basic solution have a similar morphology to those grown in acidic solution. The formation of wyartite-II is a result of high CO2 activity on the calcite surface, which provides the necessary low values of Eh. The formation of schoepite on the calcite surface in Ca 2+ ‐(CO3) 2‐ solutions occurs owing to favorable crystal-growth kinetics relative to becquerelite and other uranyl-carbonates. On the basis of observations in the open system, formation of minerals on the calcite surface is predicted for acidic and basic solutions in a closed system.


Abstract : E.C. Jordan has prepared a Health and Safety Plan for conducting an Environmental Investigation/Alternative Assessment at the base closure portion of Hamilton Army Airfield. This document was prepared under contract to the U.S. Army Toxic and Hazardous Materials Agency, Base Closure Division. The work plan is being developed for the purpose of gathering sufficient information to allow a comprehensive evaluation of the environmental conditions which exist at the base closure portion of Hamilton Army Airfield from a property transfer perspective.


Abstract The aim of this study was to identify serum ferritin (SF) cut‐off points (COPs) in a cohort of healthy full‐term normal birth weight infants who had repeated measurements of SF and haemoglobin every 3 months during the first year of life. The study included 746 full‐term infants with birth weight ≥2,500 g, having uncomplicated gestations and births. Participants received prophylactic iron supplementation (1 mg/day of iron element) from the first to the 12th month of life and did not develop anaemia during the first year of life. Two statistical methods were considered to identify COPs for low iron stores at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months of age: deviation from mean and cluster analysis. According to the K‐means cluster analysis results by age and sex, COPs at 3 and 6 months for girls were 39 and 21 μg/L and for boys 23 and 11 μg/L, respectively. A single COP of 10 μg/L was identified, for girls and boys, at both 9 and 12 months. Given the physiological changes in SF concentration during the first year of life, our study identified dynamic COPs, which differed by sex in the first semester. Adequate SF COPs are necessary to identify low iron stores at an early stage of iron deficiency, which represents one of the most widespread public health problems around the world, particularly in low‐ and middle‐income countries.


Groundwater is of utmost significance to socioeconomic development and ecological recovery for the Loess Plateau. However, studies regarding the mechanism governing groundwater recharge over this area appear to be inadequate. This study is to examine the spatio-temporal variations of dH and dO in precipitation and shallow groundwater. On the basis of this, the mechanisms governing shallow groundwater recharge were explored. Precipitation and groundwater were sampled monthly from May to October during the period 2004–2006 at 13 sites in the Chabagou Catchment (187 km). In the Caopingxigou Experimental Watershed (0.1 km), meteorological variables were observed and rainfall larger than 5 mm was sampled immediately after each rain event. Across the area, 90% of the precipitation occurred from May to September primarily in the form of heavy rains or rainstorms with great spatial variability. There were about 30 localized rains in each year. It was indicated that there existed notable seasonality and pronounced spatial variability in precipitation isotopic compositions. Contributing factors and indications of isotopic compositions, as well as their climatic indications such as monsoon intensities and mixing processes of water vapor, were investigated. The dH– dO relation of groundwater was found to be dH = 3.22 9 dO 38.1, deviating from the local meteoric water line dH = 7.57 9 dO ? 3.9. The range of d values in groundwater is shrunken to be 15–21% of that in individual precipitations, and groundwater in the middle reaches shows a wider range of d values. Isotopic results showed that groundwater originates from precipitation with hydrogen and oxygen isotopic compositions being -69 and -9.7%, respectively, and most groundwater experiences serious evaporation and adequate mixing with old water during infiltration or percolation in the aerated zone. It was also founded that obvious fluctuations of isotopic compositions in groundwater mainly appear in the middle reaches especially at sites that are close to valleys, suggesting varying sources of groundwater from precipitation, precipitation runoff, isotopically enriched surface water and/or lateral recharge of adjacent groundwater. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s12665-010-0785-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. X. Liu X. Song (&) Y. Zhang J. Xia J. Yu B. Zhang Key Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Land Surface Processes, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China e-mail: email@example.com F. Li Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China X. Liu Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China Y. Zhang State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling 712100, China X. Zhang Institute of Hydrology and Water Resources of Yellow River Conservancy Commission, Zhengzhou, Henan 450004, China D. Long Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-2117, USA 123 Environ Earth Sci DOI 10.1007/s12665-010-0785-y


Suerficial lymph node necrosis is an unusual pathologic diagnosis encountered in clinical practice. When seen it is usually indicative of involvement of the affected lymph nodes with either metastatic cancer or lymphoma. Occasionally it has been associated with hypersensitivity phenomena with arteriolar involvement. The underlying etiology in all of these instances is extensive occlusion of the rich vascular supply to the node. Rarely cases are seen where no clear‐cut etiology can be found. Ten such cases have been reported in the medical literature including the case published in this report. Its occurrence, however, may be more common than previously recognized. Preoperatively it is usually not possible to distinguish this entity from the other diagnoses for which it is generally mistaken. These other diagnoses most commonly include femoral hernia and mass in the axillary tail of the breast. The patient reported here is unusual in regard to the size of the lesion encountered. In other published reports very few lymph nodes were involved. In this case extensive involvement of a large mass of nodes was noted. Once the diagnosis is made limited work‐up as well as further close observation is important since it may herald the occurrence of a lymphoproliferative disorder.


As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, researchers from all disciplines are coming together and contributing their expertise. CORD-19, a dataset of COVID-19 and coronavirus publications, has recently been made available alongside calls to help mine the information it contains and to create tools to search it more effectively. We analyse the delineation of the publications included in CORD-19 from a scientometric perspective. Based on a comparison to the Web of Science database, we find that CORD-19 provides an almost complete coverage of research on COVID-19 and coronaviruses. However, CORD-19 contains not only research that deals directly with COVID-19 and coronaviruses, but also research on viruses in general. Publications from CORD-19 focus mostly on a few well-defined research areas, in particular: coronaviruses (primarily SARS, MERS, COVID-19); public health and viral epidemics; molecular biology of viruses; influenza and other families of viruses; immunology and antivirals; clinical medicine. CORD-19 publications that appeared in 2020, especially editorials and letters, are disproportionately popular on social media. While we fully endorse the CORD-19 initiative, it is important to be aware that CORD-19 extends beyond research on COVID-19 and coronaviruses.


Objective.To evaluate changes in serum HIV p24-antigen levels in a subset of patients who participated in a European/Australian double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of zidovudine (250 mg every 6 h) alone or in combination with acyclovir (800 mg every 6h) in patients with AIDS, AIDS-related complex (ARC) or Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). Design.Double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial of ≤6 months' therapy. Setting.Samples were obtained from patients attending teaching hospital outpatient clinics in seven European countries and Australia. Subjects.One hundred and ninety-seven HIV-infected patients (60 with AIDS and 137 with ARC or KS). Main outcome measures.Serum HIV p24-antigen levels measured using the Abbott HIV solid-phase enzyme immunoassay. Results.Of 76 ARC/KS patients who were initially HIV p24-antigen-positive, one out of 25 randomized to placebo, eight out of 23 to zidovudine and 11 out of 28 to the zidovudine/acyclovir combination became antigen-negative. The proportion of patients who became antigen-negative was significantly higher in both the zidovudine group (P = 0.016) and the zidovudine/acyclovir group (P = 0.004), compared with the placebo group. There were no statistical differences between the zidovudine and the zidovudine/acyclovir groups. During the trial p24-antigen levels in the zidovudine-treated patients reached their minimum after 4–8 weeks of therapy, and tended to increase gradually thereafter. Disease progression occurred irrespective of whether p24-antigen levels declined during therapy. No association between p24-antigen responses to therapy and baseline disease stage, Karnofsky score or baseline CD4 cell count was detectable. Conclusion.Acyclovir does not potentiate the effect of zidovudine on p24-antigen levels. Change in antigen level in response to antiviral therapy needs further investigation before it is used as a surrogate marker for clinical efficacy of antiviral therapy.


The checkered history of Nigeria since her independence in 1960 is evidenced in the failures of successive governments to deliver requisite infrastructure that can lead to industrialization and a sustainable development with a strong economic base. This research work seeks to critically examine the assertion that the problem of Nigeria is mainly anchored on weakness of state institutions like the Police, the Armed Forces and the Civil Service. While agreeing that weak institution is a contributory factor to Nigeria's unfortunate status as a failed state, the research exposes and reveals myriads of other factors that have contributed in no small measure to the Nigerian problems. Military incursion into governance; leading to the enthronement of ethnicity and mediocrity; religious intolerance; rigged electoral processes; a constitutional frame work that abhors competition and adopts a feeding bottle approach to the constituent state within the federation who monthly rush to Abuja to share oil revenue; the mono economic base and lack of diversification; obsolete laws; lack of trust amongst ethnic groups; marginalization of some sections of the country; low regard for lives and properties; corruption; cultural differences; the roguish and unholy marriage called amalgamation of 1914; the colonial objective of exploitation and prospection of our natural resources; fear of domination by the North; the transfer of the apparatus of power to an unprepared North at the time of independence etc,  appears to establish that our problems transcend weak institutions of state and is but a mere contributory factor. The scope of this research is limited to exposing these other factors as well as the weak institutions, and answers the question in the negative. Even as this work suffer from dearth of empirical evidence and materials, the doctrinal approach implicated in the interrogation of other contributory factors to the Nigerian problems using primary, secondary and tertiary sources reached the conclusion that even if strong institutions are developed, failure of government in the Nigerian state may still result from these other factors, and recommends that to solve the Nigerian problems, we must look beyond weak institutions. Keywords: problems, amalgamation, corruption, ethnicity, laws, federation, development, war, population, INEC, census. DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/101-01 Publication date: September 30 th 2020


Objectives The debate has been ongoing ever since the use of second generation drug eluting stents in daily practice. Several large scale randomised trials have been conducted to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the novel DES. The Partner stent (coated with a permanent polymer) and the Excel stent (coated with a biodegradable polymer) are two different types of sirolimus eluting stents made in China. The mid-term and long-term outcomes have both been investigated and confirmed with promising perspectives. However the very long-term outcomes are yet to be known. The aim of this study is to investigate the very long term outcomes of these two types of DES in current practice. Methods All consecutive patients undergoing PCI with implantation of Partner and/or Excel from January 2006 to December 2010 at the 2nd Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University were included. Patients were classified according to stent types. Clinical and procedural risk factors were collected retrospectively. The frequency of major adverse cardiac events (MACE: a composite of death, myocardial infarction and target vessel revascularisation) and stent thrombosis during a 60 months follow up period were compared. Results 447 patients were treated with Partner, 536 patients were treated with Excel and 161 patients received both DES. The MACE rates at 60 months follow up were 7.6% in Partner, 6.9% in Excel and 5.59% in the combined group (HR 0.866, 95% CI 0.302 to 2.84, p=0.978). The rates of cardiac death, myocardial infarction and target vessel revascularisation were 2.2%:1.7%:1.2% (HR 1.00, 95% CI 0.138 to 7.34, p=0.542), 2.23%:2.61%:3.1% (HR 1.51, 95% CI 0.248 to 9.27, p=0.414) and 2.68%:1.42%:0.62% (HR 0.327, 95% CI 0.033 to 3.19, p=0.840). The rates of stent thrombosis were 0.44%:1.1%:0.62% (HR 1.01, 95% CI 0.99 to 1.03, p=0.842). Conclusions The results from this non-randomised, single centred retrospective study showed that both Partner and Excel of the sirolimus eluting DES had similar and lower incidence of MACE and confirms the safety of both DES in the very late outcomes. They can also be safely used in combination.


This paper presents the system for cataloguing Earth orbiting objects based on the DEIMOS CORrelation Tool (CORTO) and provides information of real cataloguing activities based on optical observations. The approach undertaken in CORTO is based on a three step process: first correlation in the basis of comparison of observation with expected visibility considerations, a second orbit determination compatibility cross-check based on the filtering residuals, and a further manual processing of generated objects is executed to identify failures in the automatic correlation that could lead to duplicated objects. CORTO cataloguing system is accompanied by a set of auxiliary tools, which enhance the capabilities of the system to ensure the correctness of the cataloguing process. Two modules, CORTOHouseKeeping and CORTOEditor allow maintaining and modifying the CORTO catalogue accounting for the operator feedback. Additionally, the auxiliary tools, normally used together with CORTO, include CALMA (for calibration of observation stations) and CHOCO (which allows correlating the observed objects with those in the TLE dataset). This tool serves to assign the international ID to the CORTO objects, but is not mandatory for successful correlation of objects within CORTO. The catalogue is finally made available through a restricted web system (CAWEB) that allows the user to search objects, analyse the resulting accuracy, the evolution of the orbital information computed for each catalogued object, etc. A set of additional scripts accessing the database provide all the information to the operator to investigate the catalogue status with the aim of identifying cataloguing and tracking needs. Together with the description of the cataloguing approach, the paper provides a summary of the processing of observations from DEIMOS Sky Survey (DeSS) sensors located in Spain. Optical observations are used to feed the cataloguing system CORTO, allowing the creation of a catalogue of high altitude objects which are observable from southern Europe. In particular GEO ring longitudes covering Europe are well represented. The achievable accuracy of the observed orbits can reach values around 10-100 meters. Object manoeuvres can also be observable. Example cases of observed manoeuvres are investigated. The main results from cataloguing campaigns are summarised, describing the observation strategy and the measurement distribution. This summary highlights the main difficulties in the correlation activities.


Abstract : This report describes the results of a research program aimed at developing and demonstrating a technique for determining surface currents from a series of electromagnetic field measurements. Two back-propagation techniques were developed and validated through numerical simulations and measurements on laboratory-scale, conducting objects. The first technique is a planar spectral decomposition approach that utilizes magnetic field measurements on a plane in front of the body, and the second i a local back-propagation technique that operates using magnetic field measurements at a much smaller number of sample points. The back-propagation techniques were demonstrated through measurements on a series of laboratory-scale targets, including solid metallic plates, metallic plates with slots, and more complex objects, such as a scale-model ship and a frequency selective surface. The back-propagated results were compared to predictions of the surface current obtained using a finite difference time domain numerical code. The predicted and experimental results are in agreement, validating the back- propagation approaches for these targets. This report contains a description and analysis of the back-propagation techniques, details of the measurements, and representative results.


Background Life expectancy of HIV patients has increased by the extensive use of antiretroviral therapies (ART), but ART predisposes patients to chronic non-communicable diseases including chronic kidney disease (CKD). Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate is one of the commonly used drugs in ART and is found to have more risk for developing CKD. In the study areas, there was no previous study addressing the prevalence of CKD, so the purpose of this study was to pinpoint the prevalence of CKD, and its associated factors. Methods A hospital-based cross-sectional study was employed at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital (TASH) and Zewuditu Memorial Hospital (ZMH) from April 1 to June 30, 2019. The study participants were proportionally allocated to each hospital and a total of 243 eligible participants were selected conveniently from the two hospitals in the study period. Structured questionnaire and checklist were used to collect socio-demographic and clinical data of the participants. Blood samples (3–5 ml) were used to determine serum creatinine using calibrated fully automated Mind ray BS-200E, and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was estimated using a chronic kidney disease epidemiology equation. Multivariate logistic regression was employed to identify factors associated with CKD, and a P-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results In the present study, the prevalence of CKD (GFR <60 ml/min/1.73 m2) was 4.53% (95% CI = 2.3–8%). GFR was classified into stages, stage 5 (GFR <15), stage 4 (15–29.9), stage 3 (30–59.9), stage 2 (60–89.9), and stage 1 (≥90) were 0%, 0.4%, 4.1%, 38.3%, and 57.2%, respectively. In the multivariate logistic regression, age greater than 50 years old, and having cancer were significantly associated with CKD (AOR: 0.22, 95% CI = 0.05–0.88, P = 0.033, and AOR: 18.20, 95% CI = 122–271.77, P = 0.035, respectively). Conclusion Chronic kidney disease in HIV-infected patients receiving a TDF-based regimen requires attention. Age >50 years old, and having cancer as comorbidity were significantly associated with chronic kidney disease. Patients should be regularly monitored for early diagnosis and management of chronic kidney disease in a TDF-based regimen.


One-class novelty detection is the process of determining if a query example differs from the training examples (the target class). Most of previous strategies attempt to learn the real characteristics of target sample by using generative adversarial networks (GANs) methods. However, the training process of GANs remains challenging, suffering from instability issues such as mode collapse and vanishing gradients. In this paper, by adopting non-adversarial generative networks, a novel decoder-encoder framework is proposed for novelty detection task, insteading of classical encoder-decoder style. Under the non-adversarial framework, both latent space and image reconstruction space are jointly optimized, leading to a more stable training process with super fast convergence and lower training losses. During inference, inspired by cycleGAN, we design a new testing scheme to conduct image reconstruction, which is the reverse way of training sequence. Experiments show that our model has the clear superiority over cutting-edge novelty detectors and achieves the state-of-the-art results on the datasets.


Introduction: Chest pain and symptoms of acute coronary syndrome are responsible for a large proportion of ED visits and acute hospitalizations. However, only about 15% of patients presenting to the ED with high-risk symptoms do, in fact, have an acute coronary syndrome. The objective of this study is to derive a 2-hour high-sensitivity Troponin T (hsTnT) testing algorithm with outcome-based cut-offs to rapidly rule out acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in a large proportion of ED chest pain patients. Methods: Patients included consecutive ED patients with a chief complaint of cardiac chest pain who had an hsTnT assay performed at ED arrival and 2 hours after ED arrival. Administrative databases were queried to identify troponin results and major adverse cardiac outcomes (MACE) including death, MI, and revascularization. Test characteristics of iterative combinations of initial troponin level and absolute change in troponin level were quantified in order to identify the testing algorithm that identified the greatest proportion of patients eligible for early discharge while maintaining a target sensitivity of 98.5% for the primary outcome of 7-day AMI. Results: 755 eligible patients had hsTnT assays performed at ED arrival and at 2 hours. 91 patients (12.1%) had a 7-day AMI while 108 (14.0%) had 7-day MACE. An initial hsTnT level of less than 14 ng/L, in combination with a 2-hour absolute change of less than 10ng/L had a sensitivity of 98.9% (95% CI 94.0,99.8) and an NPV of 99.8% (95% CI 98.7, 100.0) for 7-day AMI. This identified 58.5% of all patients as being suitable for early discharge. Sensitivity and NPV for 7-day MACE were 90.0% (95% CI 83.3, 94.2) and 97.3% (95% CI 95.3,98.4) respectively. Sex-specific differences in test characteristics were not clinically important. Rule-in hsTnT cutoffs were also evaluated, with specificities ranging from 85-95%, although cut-offs with higher specificity had less ability to rapidly rule-in AMI, leaving more patients with indeterminate results after 2 hours. Conclusion: A hsTnT algorithm can safely and accurately rule out AMI in 58.5% of ED chest pain patients within 2 hours of ED arrival. The lower sensitivity of this algorithm for MACE compared to AMI speaks to the importance of clinical assessment and ECG findings in identifying patients at risk for acute coronary syndromes.


3D quantitative structure activity relationship study was performed on a series of some (2-benzylcarbamoylphenoxy)- acetic acid derivatives for treatment of chronic diabetic complications for establishing n quantitative relationship between biological activity and their physicochemical properties. Several statistical regression expressions were obtained with 3D-QSAR study using k-Nearest Neighbor (kNN) method and four statistical significant models were generated by using Sphere Exclusion method and Randon Selection Method. By kNN Sphere Exclusion Method (q2= 0.5042 , 0.6433 and pred_r2= 0.6939, 0.7115 for model 1 and 2 respectively) and kNN Randon Selection Method (q2= 0.6297, 0.7107 and pred_r2=0.8970,0.5908 for model 3,4 respectively).


Bacterial wilt is an important disease that limits the production of many crop plants in the warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions of the world. Few other plant diseases are comparable in terms of diversity of host range and wide geographic distribution, as well as of economic importance. Host plants include banana, eggplant, ginger, peanut, pepper, potato, tobacco and tomato. This book is the first to provide a general but comprehensive review of the disease and the bacterium that causes it. It considers topics ranging from taxonomy, phylogeny and genetics, to control strategies, and provides up-to-date information on recent advances derived from molecular biological approaches. The bacterium is also increasingly being used as a model system for the study of host-parasite interactions. Therefore the book represents a standard reference volume for both bacteriologists and plant pathologists.


Hundreds of millions of dollars per year are spent on river restoration in the Pacific Northwest (PNW), but little is known about the effectiveness of this effort. To help address this gap, we analyzed a database containing 23,000 projects at 35,000 locations in the region. We selected a subset of these projects for interviews using a survey instrument developed by a national team of scientists. In total, 47 project contacts in the PNW were interviewed to learn from the individuals directly involved in restoration. At least one‐third of the projects surveyed (34%) did not conduct sufficient monitoring to evaluate effectiveness. More than two‐thirds (70%) of all respondents reported their projects were successful, but 43% either have no success criteria or are unaware of any criteria for their project. Although almost two‐thirds (66%) of respondents anticipate a need for ongoing project maintenance, less than half (43%) have maintenance funds available. These findings suggest that establishing a connection between effectiveness monitoring and project implementation is not a usual component of project design. Consequently, we can only assess the benefits in a few isolated projects and cannot quantify the cumulative benefits of restoration on a larger scale. These findings highlight the need for (1) planning prior to implementation of restoration projects that accounts for monitoring design; (2) coordinated effectiveness monitoring to assess cumulative effects of restoration; and (3) management and maintenance of projects based on real measures of project performance.


DOE Order (DOE O) 440.1, Worker Protection Management for DOE Federal and Contractor Employees, establishes the framework for an effective worker protection program to reduce or eliminate accidental losses, injuries, and illnesses by providing workers with places of employment free of recognized hazards. In addition to prescribing program requirements applicable to all activities performed by DOE and its contractors, DOE O 440.1 provides specific requirements applicable only to construction activities. The intent of these construction-specific requirements is to compel the proactive management of construction safety on a project-by-project basis and, to the greatest extent possible, integrate the management of safety and health, both in terms of project personnel and management methodologies, with the management of the other primary elements of construction project performance: quality, cost and schedule.


There are inherent difficulties in supporting mobility in ATM networks, due to its connection oriented nature. Once mobile users moves out of certain geographic areas, the ongoing connections for the mobile users have to be rerouted. A suitable connection rerouting schemes must exhibit a number of features including: low handoff latency, efficient routes, minimal disruption to the network traffic as well as the necessary route updates. This paper propose and studies 5 different connection rerouting schemes in ATM-based wireless networks. Extensive experiments show that one of the schemes demonstrates superior performance, seems to be ideally suited for the connection rerouting. This scheme is executed in two phrases, real-time and non-real-time: 1) to execute very fast handoff (reroute) scheme using chaining in a real-time with measured time of 6.5 ms; and 2) reroute the connection in non-real-time to achieve more efficient routes if necessary. The conclusion this paper reaches is that simple handoff schemes coupled with a suitable connection management architecture are sufficient for low-bit-rate multimedia application in the ATM-based wireless networks.


Football exerts an irresistible pull throughout the world. It represents a stage for world-views, religions and values held by all sorts of cultures. From Brazil to Japan, from Cameroon to the Ukraine, from Mexico and even the US to Europe: throughout the world, this sport is interpreted and celebrated in different ways. Which players become heroes? How do fans from these entire different cultures act during a game? What is the importance of football to politics and what is the politics of football? Why do eleven team members become eleven advertising vehicles for sponsoring companies? Why do stadiums end up as multifunctional arenas? What cults and rituals are entwined with this sport in all the different countries? "Football: One Game - Many Worlds" looks at football from an anthropological view, discussing customs and rituals from around the world, such as Japanese football mangas and the Neapolitan cult of Maradona, Latin American 'fetishes' to invoke 'the gods of football' and West African coffins shaped like football shoes. Included are artefacts and photographs from the four corners of the world revealing exotic and unknown aspects of football as well as its familiar sides in a new and often astonishing light. The many photographs bring alive the cultural diversity of football as celebrated around the world, and commentary is provided by internationally renowned experts such as sportswriters, journalists and ethnologists.


The purpose of this study is to describe and evaluate methods and models which are empirically applicable in order to estimate flows of interaction between sectors and between nodes. This interaction manifests itself in the form of flows of com-modities and services between the different sectors of the economy, and between spatially dis-persed nodes of supply and demand. After an introductory overview of vari-ous regio-nal and interregional interaction models, the main ideas of the ERG (Estimation of Intraregional and Interregional Goods Flows) approach are de-scribed. A specific purpose of the ERG project was to investigate to what extent it is possible to "feed" the models by using statistics published periodically. Depending on different kinds of commodity characteristics, mod-els of generation and distri-bu-tion of freight flows are presented for six different esti-mation groups. Experiences collected from the ERG approach applied to three different project areas in Sweden are presented. The three pro-jects comprise (1) the original ERG project in the county of Varmland, (2) an input-output study from the county of Blekinge, and (3) an investigation of the goods flow pattern of the Malardalen region.The results are evaluated by several measures. Sixteen measures of dis-tance and simi-larity are defined, and the properties of the measures are dis-cussed and compa-red. By utilizing these measures, the deviation between one observed reference distribution of flows and one corresponding estimated distribution are calculated. However, different methods of measure-ment or meas-ures might give very different results and, hence, diverging conclusions about pre-cision and accuracy. The reason for this is mainly due to three factors: (i) the func-tional form of the deviation measure, (ii) the character of the distributions com-pared, and (iii) the unit of meas-urement. This is demonstrated mainly through analyses based on empirical data which comprise comparisons bet-ween differentially established regio-nal input-output coefficients as well as between the internodal commodity flows estimates.One important conclusion of the study is that generally available statistics are in most cases too highly aggregated to give an accurate picture of regional flow pat-terns and are thus not applicable to the estimation process. It is therefore necessary to add disaggregated, plant level information. From the measurement study one can, for example, conclude that the regression technique is very useful in this con-text. It gives several measures of deviation, and its plotting facility serves as a good illustra-tion and disclosure tool.Keywords: Input-output models, interregional models, gravity models, entropy models, minimum information models, trade flows, freight flows, commodity flows, spatial, measures of similarity, measures of deviation


The use of sodium glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) in heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) has been strongly supported by the results of recent randomized clinical trials. Upon this evidence, international recommendations and consensus documents propose the inclusion of SGLT2i among the first-line classes for HFrEF management. Subsequent analyses of treatment subgroups have been performed to investigate the effects of SGLT2i in patients treated with first-line classes including sacubitril/valsartan (Sac/Val), showing a consistent reduction of cardiovascular outcomes with a good safety profile of SGLT2i in combination with the other classes. Accordingly, SGLT2i are recommended also in combination with Sac/Val. This association, however, may require caution before being translated into guideline-directed medical therapy in clinical practice, since the proportion of patients receiving Sac/Val and SGLT2i in the available studies was poorly represented. In order to support an effective and safe sequencing or a simultaneous initiation of these 2 drug classes, pragmatic and real-world clinical studies would be helpful.


1 The resource availability hypothesis (RAH) predicts that allocation of resources to anti‐herbivore defences differs between species according to their growth rate. We tested this hypothesis by assessing the growth and defence investment strategies of 18 grass species and comparing them against vole feeding preferences. In addition, we assessed the effectiveness of silica, the primary defence in many grasses, in influencing vole feeding behaviour. 2 Across species, we found that there was a strong negative relationship between the overall investment in defence and growth rate, thus supporting predictions of the RAH. However, no such relationship was found when assessing the various individual anti‐herbivore defences, suggesting that different grass species show significant variation in their relative investment in strategies such as phenolic concentration, silica concentration and leaf toughness. 3 Silica was the most influential defensive factor in determining vole feeding preference. Experimentally induced increases in leaf silica concentration deterred vole feeding in three of the five species tested, and altered feeding preference ranks between species. The strong positive relationship between silica concentration and leaf abrasiveness, when assessed both within and between species, suggests that increased abrasiveness is the mechanism by which silica deters feeding. 4 Although grasses are often considered to be tolerant of herbivore damage rather then defended against it, they do follow predictions of defence allocation strategy based on their growth rates, and this affects the feeding behaviour of generalist grass‐feeding herbivores.


Model-Driven Engineering (MDE) is a relatively new paradigm in software engineering that pursues the goal to master the increased complexity of modern software products. While software applications have been developed for a specific platform in the past, today they are targeting various platforms and devices from classical desktop PCs to smart phones. In addition, they interact with other applications. To easier cope with these new requirements, software applications are specified in MDE at a high abstraction level in so called models prior to their implementation. Afterward, model transformations are used to automate recurring development tasks as well as to generate software artifacts for different runtime environments. Thereby, software artifacts are not necessarily files containing program code, they can also cover configuration files as well as machine readable input for model checking tools. However, MDE does not only address software engineering problems, it also raises new challenges. One of these new challenges is connected to the specification of modeling languages, which are used to create models. The creation of a modeling language is a creative process that requires several iterations similar to the creation of models. New requirements as well as a better understanding of the application domain result in an evolution of modeling languages over time. Models developed in an earlier version of a modeling language often needs to be co-adopted (migrated) to language changes. This migration should be automated, as migrating models manually is time consuming and error-prone. While application modelers use ad-hoc solutions to migrate their models, there is still a lack of theory to ensure well-defined migration results. This work contributes to a formalization of modeling language evolution with corresponding model migration on the basis of algebraic graph transformations that have successfully been used earlier as theoretical foundations of model transformation. The goal of this research is to develop a theory that considers the problem of modeling language evolution with corresponding model migration on a conceptual level, independent of a specific modeling framework.


Corruption is the use of public resources for private gain. This is common in most countries though reduced in some and alarming in others. It affects all sectors of the economy and the healthcare system is not spared. Medical corruption is increasing in countries with high rates of corruption and all healthcare professionals are affected. This is review article on medical corruption in Nigeria with suggestion on how to reduce itKeywords: Healthcare System, Corruption, Healthcare Professional, Medical Care


OBJECTIVES: To analyse the attitudes of medical personnel towards terminally ill patients and their right to be fully informed. DESIGN: Self-administered questionnaire composed of 56 closed questions. SETTING: Three general hospitals and eleven health centres in Granada (Spain). The sample comprised 168 doctors and 207 nurses. RESULTS: A high percentage of medical personnel (24.1%) do not think that informing the terminally ill would help them face their illness with greater serenity. Eighty-four per cent think the patient's own home is the best place to die: 8.9% of the subjects questioned state that the would not like to be informed of an incurable illness. CONCLUSION: In our opinion any information given should depend on the patient's personality, the stage of the illness and family circumstances. Our study confirms that a hospital is not the ideal environment for attending to the needs of the terminally ill and their families.


This case study describes the multipurpose use of scenarios in a large multinational research project (MOBIlearn) whose aims are to design and develop a pedagogically sound mobile learning environment. Maintaining effective communication and design focus in large consortia is a well‐known problem (see Carroll, 2000), and we describe the role of scenarios in addressing this. Scenarios were initially used to simply envision the future system in order to inform design, but as the project progressed, the role of the scenarios grew to encompass (i) relating system design and implementation to pedagogy by providing a common frame of reference for developers and pedagogic experts; (ii) through a process of refinement, defining the evaluation strategy for the user trials; and (iii) allowing us to keep the user at the heart of the development project. Thus, scenarios helped to resolve the difficulty identified by Taylor (2004) of how to bring together the relatively high level issues of pedagogic evaluation and the more technical user‐centred system evaluation. The development of a first‐aid training scenario is used as an illustrative example.


For Francis hydraulic turbines, unsteady flow caused by vortex ropes in the draft tube leads to a problem of stability in operation. The unsteady flow field of a model Francis hydraulic turbine was simulated under part-load operation. A sliding mesh model was used to calculate a time-accurate solution for the strong rotor-stator interactions between the runner and guide vanes, and the draft tube. Based on three-dimensional incompressible Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations and on a renormalization group k-?turbulence model, spatial discretization was obtained by using the finite volume method with unstructured grid elements, and a second order fully implicit scheme was applied for time. Pressure fluctuations in the draft tube were recorded and analyzed via a fast Fourier transform calculation. The results were compared with the experimental data, and show that the vortex rope in the draft tube and the induced pressure fluctuations are well simulated.


The aim of the study is to assess family members' perceptions of the quality of nursing care of older people and its relationships between demographic factors and family involvement. Data were gathered from family members of four residential homes (N= 474) using structured questionnaires. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation, and predictive analyses. The results imply that family members' perceptions of quality were fairly positive. Age, educational background, and the frequency of visits on the ward were related with the quality perception. The association between quality perceptions and family involvement in care proved to be strong. The information and support from the staff and possibilities to participate in decision making were associated with high-quality ratings. The results demonstrate the need for formulating ward policies and training the nursing staff to allow increased family involvement and to support it in an appropriate way.


The right to vote is a fundamental right of citizenship in democratic nations, and participation in elections in one of the most important acts undertaken by citizens. Although these rights are guaranteed to all citizens, international research shows that disabled people are widely excluded from participation in elections. Disabled people are less likely to vote than non-disabled people and often encounter various obstacles when they try to participate in elections. This article discusses the voting participation of disabled people in consideration of the international research. The main barriers that disabled people encounter in the voting process will first be outlined. This will be followed by questions concerning the effects these obstacles produce, not only for disabled citizens, but what this means overall for the health of democracy and democratic institutions when a portion of the citizenry encounter serious obstacles concerning their basic civil rights. Icelandic research in this field is extremely limited and no systematic statistical data exists on the participation of disabled people in elections, or politics in general, in this country. Based on data drawn from sources from two of the largest disabled people's organization in the country, the focus here is on the experiences, circumstances and opportunities for disabled people to participate in elections in the country. The findings draw attention to the obligations of the state to promote and ensure the participation of disabled people in politics and public life in light of the recent ratification in Iceland of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).


Symbiosism is a Darwinian model of language and its emergence. Symbiotic Theory operates on the Leiden definition of memes as isofunctional neuroanatomical entities corresponding to linguistic signs in the Saussurean sense, not on the Oxonian conception of memes as units of imitation. Symbiosism treats linguistic forms as vehicles for the reproduction of meaningful elements in the hominid brain and so transcends the obsolete discord between the functionalist or European structuralist conception of language, whereby linguistic forms are seen as instruments used to convey meaningful elements, and the formalist or generative approach, whereby linguistic forms are treated as abstract structures which can be filled with meaningful elements. Symbiomism is the philosophy of life which grew out of Symbiosism and which understands our individual and collective human identity as symbiomes of a biological host and a semiotic symbiont.


One of the main challenges in AMB is its controllability which means it is difficult to get a stable spindle and controller. To solve this problem, some methods have been developed previously, but the value of the controllability of AMB was not calculated. The subject of our study is to develop a new method and find a mathematical model that aims to research the controllability of AMB, the status at passing through levitation process, running, a critical speed and achieve high-speed rotation. The stiffness and damping of AMB, which changes randomly along with the rotor running, are determined by the controller system. How to get the relationship between the stiffness and damping with dynamic coefficients of rotor–AMB system is a key problem to get an optimization controller. In this paper, a mathematical model of the relationship is established. Stiffness and damping of AMB can change if the parameter of controller modulated. Based on rotor dynamics theory, the dynamic characteristics of rotors such as critical speeds, system stability and unbalanced excitation are analyzed. Computer simulations are carried out and the effectiveness of the presented procedure is investigated.


Among the great restrictions for off grid renewable electrical energy production systems to a sure electrification is the weather-data fluctuating nature. Therefore, helping these systems with additional storage systems to maintain a secure supply of consumers appears as a suitable solution, especially in remote isolated sites. The objective of this study is to extract optimal configuration of a hybrid off grid photovoltaic-diesel energy system with storage system based on the combination between inertial storage (flywheel) and electrochemical storage (batteries) for agricultural applications.


The re-identification or de-anonymization of users from anonymized data through matching with publicly-available correlated user data has raised privacy concerns, leading to the complementary measure of obfuscation in addition to anonymization. Recent research provides a fundamental understanding of the conditions under which privacy attacks are successful, either in the presence of obfuscation or synchronization errors stemming from the sampling of time-indexed databases. This paper presents a unified framework considering both obfuscation and synchronization errors and investigates the matching of databases under noisy column repetitions. By devising replica detection and seeded deletion detection algorithms, and using information-theoretic tools, sufficient conditions for successful matching are derived. It is shown that a seed size logarithmic in the row size is enough to guarantee the detection of all deleted columns. It is also proved that this sufficient condition is necessary, thus characterizing the database matching capacity of database matching under noisy column repetitions and providing insights on privacy-preserving publication of anonymized and obfuscated time-indexed data.


Abstract. Water resource management in Brazil is constantly evolving, and greater knowledge about this resource allows better planning and more sustainable uses. In Brazil, the improvement of water resource management faces the difficulty of implementing the instruments of the National Water Resources Policy, such as classification of water bodies. Thus, to help improve the water management instruments in the country's northern region, the objective of the present study was to diagnose the influence of land use and occupation on the water quality of the Igarapé Nazaré microbasin. For this purpose, indirect methods of landscape analysis were applied based on the processing of remote sensing images in a GIS. For the water quality analysis, 10 collection points were selected in the watershed, with samples collected at each one in four periods (high water; HW/LW transition; low water; LW/HW transition). In the collected samples, 14 parameters were analyzed, namely: temperature, pH, electrical conductivity; turbidity; water transparency and depth; dissolved oxygen; chlorophyll a, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, total phosphorus and dissolved phosphorus; total coliforms and E. coli. The spatial analysis showed that the microbasin has about 84 % anthropized territory, with emphasis on agriculture, and sources of pollution from industries, fish farming and domestic sewage. Parameter analyses showed high values of total phosphorus (0.005–27.55 mg.L−1), total coliforms (4,103–1,09,106 CFU) and E. coli (0–5.8,105 CFU), and low DO concentration (0.0–8.33 mg.L−1), below the official limit established in all periods analyzed The water quality of the Igarapé Nazaré microbasin was found to suffer strong anthropic interference, requiring improvement of the sanitary infrastructure of city of Ji-Paraná, for maintenance of the watershed in class 2.


Aims: We aimed to investigate whether bilingual pupil's perceptions of teachers' appreciation of their home language were of influence on bilingual cognitive advantages. Design: We examined whether Dutch bilingual primary school pupils who speak either German or Turkish at home differed in perceptions of their teacher's appreciation of their HL, and whether these differences could explain differences between the two groups in executive functioning. Data and analysis: Executive functioning was measured through computer tasks, and perceived home language appreciation through orally administered questionnaires. The relationship between the two was assessed with regression analyses. Findings: German-Dutch pupils perceived there to be more appreciation of their home language from their teacher than Turkish-Dutch pupils. This difference did partly explain differences in executive functioning. Besides, we replicated bilingual advantages in nonverbal working memory and switching, but not in verbal working memory or inhibition. Originality and significance: This study demonstrates that bilingual advantages cannot be dissociated from the influence of the sociolinguistic context of the classroom. Thereby, it stresses the importance of culturally responsive teaching.


Tackling depression is a core priority in primary care. Many patients with physical diseases present with depression and need care for both their physical and mental states. Practice nurses are adept at managing chronic diseases, and with guidance and education can be successful in helping patients with depression, as demonstrated by one award-winning scheme.


In this study, the association between virulence genotypes and phylogenetic groups among Escherichia (E.) coli isolates obtained from pet dogs and cats with cystitis was detected, and fingerprinting methods were used to explore the relationship among strains. Forty uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) isolated from dogs (n = 30) and cats (n = 10) in Italy were analysed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the presence of virulence factors and their classification into phylogenetic groups. The same strains were characterized by repetitive extragenic palindromic (REP)- and enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC)-PCR techniques. We found a high number of virulence factors such as fimbriae A, S fimbriae (sfa) and cytotoxic necrotizing factor 1 (cnf1) significantly associated with phylogenetic group B2. We demonstrated a high correlation between α-hemolysin A and pyelonephritis C, sfa, and cnf1 operons, confirming the presence of pathogenicity islands in these strains. In addition, UPEC belonging to group B2 harboured a greater number of virulence factors than strains from phylogenetic groups A, B1, and D. REP- and ERIC-PCR grouped the UPEC isolates into two major clusters, the former grouping E. coli strains belonging to phylogenetic group B2 and D, the latter grouping those belonging to groups A and B1. Given the significant genetic variability among the UPEC strains found in our study, it can be hypothesized that no specific genotype is responsible for cystitis in cats or dogs.


Background: Maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) is a monogenic form of diabetes mellitus. Aims: To identify the genetic basis in a family with 3 generations of diabetes and to assess the concordance between the genotype and phenotype. Methods: A molecular analysis was performed on genomic DNA using polymerase chain reaction, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, and sequencing. A mixed-meal tolerance test (MMTT) was performed with/without glibenclamide. Abdominal ultrasonography was performed on all family members with diabetes due to the location of the mutation. Results: A novel c.618G>A, p.W206X termination mutation was identified in the hepatic nuclear factor 1α (HNF1α) gene. The mutation was identified in the proband and 8 of the 14 family members tested. An MMTT stimulus (±2.5 and 5 mg glibenclamide) produced a similar glucose profile and C-peptide graph in both the obese proband and her nonobese mother, showing no effect of the glibenclamide. No evidence of liver adenomas was found in the abdominal ultrasonography. Conclusions: We described a novel c.618G>A, p.W206X mutation in HNF1α associated with MODY 3 but not with hepatocellular adenoma. In contradistinction to most MODY 3 mutations, treatment with sulphonylurea was found to be a clinically ineffective alternative to insulin therapy.


Gurley's collection of essays presents his view of China's modern economic history. The lead&em, his well-known article on "Maoist Economic Development: The New 'Man' in the New China,' sets out the Maoist conception of social progress as well as Western misinterpretations of it—both of which appear to be dated by recent changes inside China as well as among sinologists. The second essay, "The Formation of Mao's Economic Strategy, 1927-1949," previously published in the Monthly Review, extracts the key elements of Mao's political economy from his Selected Works and from the major secondary sources on the rural revolution in China. The next piece, "A Survey of China's Economy Through Books," is a collection of reviews of more than two dozen books that deal with the Chinese economy since the time of the Opium War, the emphasis in the selection being on studies of developments since 1949. In the following essay, "Mao and the Building of Socialism," which reproduces most of chapter 5 of Gurley s Challengers to Capitalism: Marx, Lenin, and Mao, he adds to this summary and critique of the views of others his own interpretation of China's socialist transformation during the past thirty years. The fifth essay, on "Rural Development, 1949-1972, and the Lessons to be Learned from It," previously published in World Development, explores in more detail the most unique aspect of this momentous change. "Some Notes on the Financial System " outlines the changing structure and functions of China's financial system, during nationalist as well as communist times, with emphasis on the system's role in the saving-investment process. Item number seven, "Economists, Prices, and Profits: Some Maoist Views," returns to the theme of the initial essay by describing the new thought that makes man "new"—in contrast with the bourgeois thought of the revisionist capitalist readers. The last essay, like the concluding section of the fifth one, finally raises the question: "Is the Chinese Model Diffusible?" Gurley responds principally in the affirmative—but he also identifies so many immediate obstacles to a transfer in the absence of a comparable socialist revolution elsewhere that his practically relevant answer is essentially negative.


An original wet recycling method is developed for large carbon-fibers reinforced-polymers composite panels, addressed through a proof-of-concept fabrication of a new composite part based on recycled fibers. The recycling process relies on formic acid as separation reagent at room temperature and under atmospheric pressure conditions. Electron microscopy and thermal analysis indicate that the recycled fibers are covered by a thin layer of about 10wt.% of residual resin, alternating with few small particles, as compared to the virgin fibers exhibiting a smooth surface. The mechanical properties of composites based on neat and recycled fibers are determined from interlaminar shear strength, compression, compression after impact and Iosipescu shear tests. The recycled composites show promising shear and strength values with a deterioration of performances limited to about 10 to 33% depending on the property as compared to the reference. The recycled carbon fibers can thus be reused for structural applications requiring moderate to high performances. The loss of properties is attributed to a lower adhesion between fresh epoxy resin and recycled carbon fibers having lost their sizing, partly compensated by a good interface between fresh and residual cured epoxy thanks to mechanical anchoring as well as chemical reactions.


We compare here two approaches to reconstruct sub-sampled partial Fourier MRI data acquired with multiple receiver coils. The first approach combines homodyne detection with SENSE-like reconstructions. The second approach employs separate regularization of the real and imaginary components (two-parameters) of the parallel MRI linear system to constrain the magnitude of phase variation in the reconstructed image. We show that both methods robustly reconstruct images from several sampling patterns. The dominant difference is the number of symmetric lines of k-space needed to provide high quality reconstructions. The two parameter approach can reconstruct good images using only two whereas the homodyne approach requires significantly more. We present a method for automatic selection of the two parameters, and results from both high resolution and low contrast phantom data.


Tritium (T) distributions on tungsten (W)-coated plasma-facing tiles used in the third ITER-like wall campaign (2015–2016) of the Joint European Torus (JET) were examined by means of an imaging plate technique and β-ray induced x-ray spectrometry, and they were compared with the distributions after the second (2013–2014) campaign. Strong enrichment of T in beryllium (Be) deposition layers was observed after the second campaign. In contrast, T distributions after the third campaign was more uniform though Be deposition layers were visually recognized. The one of the possible explanations is enhanced desorption of T from Be deposition layers due to higher tile temperatures caused by higher energy input in the third campaign.


We analyze deployment of an interactive dialogue system in an environment where deep technical expertise might not be readily available. The initial version was created using a collection of research tools. We summarize a number of challenges with its deployment at two museums and describe a new system that simplifies the installation and user interface; reduces reliance on 3rd-party software; and provides a robust data collection mechanism.


Background Advance Care Planning (ACP) is a key component of the UK End- of- Life Care Strategy to improve the quality and experience of care for patients and their families. Little is known about patients' response to the opportunity to discuss preferences for future care. Aim: This paper presents findings from a study of how seriously ill patients engage in ACP in community care settings. Methods Qualitative study of longitudinal patient case studies with six month follow-up. Results There was evidence of ACP in 12 of 21 cases. The findings illustrate the diversity of patient responses to ACP discussions. Complex situational factors underlay preferences for end-of-life care which were liable to change as death drew near. ACP discussions tended to be reactive rather than pre-emptive, occurring in response to critical events and close to, rather than in advance of, death. Discussion Patients tended to be pragmatic about their future options. Preferences were shaped by context, key relationships and the desire to avoid imposing burden on family carers. Barriers to ACP included uncertain prognosis, absence of an established relationship with a key professional, and patients' resistance to confronting, or discussing, the terminal nature of their illness. Conclusion The findings highlight divergence between policy and current practice of ACP. Rather than focus on issues of precedent autonomy, capacity, and open awareness of death and dying, patients prioritised being free from pain, living in an extended present, and not placing a burden on their family carers.


This study aimed to evaluate the effect of three different sources of sodium for broilers' performance and carcass yield. In total 414 female Ross broilers were fed on dietary treatments from one up to 42 days of age. A completely randomized experimental design was used. Broilers were distributed into a total of 6 replicates per treatment. Treatments consisted of T1- sodium chloride, T2-sodium bicarbonate with Ammonium chloride and T3-sodium formate with Ammonium chloride. Average body weight (ABW), feed consumption (FC), body weight gain (BWG), feed conversion (FE), viability (V) and European efficiency factor (EEF), preslaughtering body weight (PSBW), carcass yield (CY), thigh yield (TY) and drumstick yield (DY) were evaluated. Broilers fed on T1 and T2 showed higher feed conversion than those fed on T3 from 1 to 21, 1 to 28 and 1 to 35 days of age. Dietary treatments did not effect the remaining variables up to 35 days of age on the carcass yield. In conclusion, it is possible to substitute the traditional sodium for sodium bicarbonate and sodium formate, both supplied with Ammonium chloride, without affecting the performance or carcass yield.


This document explores applicability of Distributed Mobility
Management (DMM) and use case scenarios for different parts of the
mobile network. DMM approaches and scenarios are divided into two
cases: partially and fully distributed. For each case, benefits and
issues are provided. It also refers to applicability of existing
protocols and necessity of development of new protocols in order to
provide a guideline for best suited solutions for the target
architecture.


Background Unlike developed countries; higher socioeconomic status (SES, education, and wealth) is associated with hypertension in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) with limited evidence. We examined the associations between SES and hypertension in Nepal and the extent to which these associations vary by sex and urbanity. The body mass index (BMI) was examined as a secondary outcome and assessed as a potential mediator. Materials and methods We analyzed the latest Nepal Demographic and Health Survey data (N=13,436) collected between June 2016 and January 2017, using a multistage stratified sampling technique. Participants aged 15 years or older from selected households were interviewed with an overall response rate of 97%. Main outcomes were hypertension and normal blood pressure defined by the widely used Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee (JNC 7), and the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) 2017. Results The prevalence of hypertension was higher in Nepalese men than women. The likelihood of having hypertension was more than double for individuals in the highest versus lowest wealth quintiles [men: OR 2.13, 95% CI 1.60-2.85); women: OR 2.54, 95% CI 2.00- 3.24] and for individuals with the higher education versus no education [men: OR 2.38, 95% CI 1.75-3.23; women: OR 1.63, 95% CI 1.18-2.25]. The associations between SES and hypertension were different by sex and urbanity. These associations were mediated by BMI. Conclusions Higher SES was positively associated with the higher likelihood of having hypertension in Nepal according to both JNC 7 and ACC/AHA 2017 guidelines. These associations were mediated by BMI, which may help to explain broader socioeconomic differentials in CVD and related risk factors, particularly in terms of education and wealth. Our study suggests that the mediating factor of BMI should be tackled to diminish the risk of CVD in people with higher SES in LMICs.


Cytomegalovirus (CMV) syndrome and infectious disease are defined as pathogen detection with appropriate clinical symptoms, but there are not pathognomonic signs of CMV disease. Although the prodrome of acute minor viral infections leukopenia (lymphopenia and neutropenia) is noted with onset of fever, followed by monocytosis, the role of monocytosis in CMV disease has not been described. Furthermore, under influence of corticosteroid therapy, CMV reactivation and monocytosis are described, but without a strict relationship with steroids dose. In the study, the monocyte level was investigated during the CMV infectious process. Regrettably, a non-selected group of 160 patients with high CMV viremia showed high dispersion of monocyte level and comparable with the median value for healthy subjects. Therefore, we investigated monocyte level in CMV-infected patients in relation to the logarithmic phase of the infectious process. Samples from patients with active CMV replication (exponential growth of CMV viremia) were tested. Significant monocytosis (above 1200/µL) during the logarithmic phase of CMV infection (with exponent between 3.23 and 5.77) was observed. Increased count and percentage of monocytes correlated with viral replication in several clinical situations except when there was a rapid recovery without relapse. Furthermore, glucocorticoids equivalent to 10 and 20 mg of dexamethasone during a 2–3-week period caused monocytosis—significant increase (to 1604 and 2214/µL, respectively). Conclusion: In light of the logarithmic increase of viral load, high monocytosis is a hallmark of CMV replication. In the COVID-19 era, presence of high virus level, especially part of virome (CMV) in the molecular technique, is not sufficient for the definition of either proven or probable CMV replication at any site. These preliminary observations merit additional studies to establish whether this clinical response is mediated by monocyte production or by decrease of differentiation to macrophages.


'Masterly work ...Leads the reader patiently but directly not merely into Qur'anic writing but into the heart of that Holy Book itself ...By the time we have followed Dr Ahmad to the end of this splendid work we have learned something new and indeed something uplifting about one of the world's great books.' Prof. F. E. Peters, New York University.


In this paper we present a system for the monitoring of data flow and resources usage in applications running in the MUSCLE environment. While MUSCLE provides the ability of running complex experiments, it does not support any monitoring features. By combining the monitoring functionality supported by Sem Mon and Nagios, we are able to design and implement a system for gathering and visualizing important run-time data relating to application performance. Fluent experiment execution is highly dependable on real-time collecting and presenting essential information connected to task processing. Of particular importance for monitoring system users is that the use of the system should be as easy as possible with regard to storing, observing and interpreting the monitoring data. These features are enabled by introducing ontologies into the operation of the monitoring system. In addition to the conventional monitoring activities, using ontologies makes it possible to automate the process of reasoning on performance flaws and to easily change the focus of monitoring. In the paper we will focus on the concept and some implementation details of our monitoring system, assuming that an infrastructure to support the transport and storage of performance data on the usage of resources in MUSCLE-based applications should be transparent and lightweight.


In this study, we analyze the validity of Halloween effect in Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE) between January 1990 - December 2010 which implies stock returns are lower during the May-October period versus the November-April period. As well as the Least Squares Method, we use Huber's M-estimator which is a robust estimator against to outliers, and conclude that there is no Halloween effect in the ISE which shows the finding of Bouman and Jacobsen (2002) is due to disregarding outliers.


As one of the key enabling technologies of emerging smart societies and industries (i.e., industry 4.0), the Internet of Things (IoT) has evolved significantly in both technologies and applications. It is estimated that more than 25 billion devices will be connected by wireless IoT networks by 2020. In addition to ubiquitous connectivity, many envisioned applications of IoT, such as industrial automation, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) networks, smart grids, and remote surgery, will have stringent transmission latency and reliability requirements, which may not be supported by existing systems. Thus, there is an urgent need for rethinking the entire communication protocol stack for wireless IoT networks. In this tutorial paper, we review the various application scenarios, fundamental performance limits, and potential technical solutions for high-reliability and low-latency (HRLL) wireless IoT networks. We discuss physical, MAC (medium access control), and network layers of wireless IoT networks, which all have significant impacts on latency and reliability. For the physical layer, we discuss the fundamental information-theoretic limits for HRLL communications, and then we also introduce a frame structure and preamble design for HRLL communications. Then practical channel codes with finite block length are reviewed. For the MAC layer, we first discuss optimized spectrum and power resource management schemes and then recently proposed grant-free schemes are discussed. For the network layer, we discuss the optimized network structure (traffic dispersion and network densification), the optimal traffic allocation schemes and network coding schemes to minimize latency.


We present the results of the development of a multi-fluid model for a transient multiphase flow in a wellbore. The 1D multi-fluid model governs a transient isothermal gas/oil/water flow in a deviated well.The model is able to predict the flow regimes with a single interface between gas and liquid mixture: stratified-smooth, stratified-wavy, and slug flow regimes. The model of a stratified flow can be modified to cover the annular flow regime. The present model is an extension of the earlier work on multi-fluid models for near-horizontal pipes [1], [2] to any inclination angle and additional phases.The numerical algorithm is based on SIMPLE pressure-velocity coupling scheme, which is featured with the implementation of the geometry conservation based algorithm [3]. The algorithm guarantees the compliance of balance equations together with the holdup constraint within specified tolerances. The phase appearance and disappearance is treated with specific modification of governing equations.The code is validated on the results on transitions between the regimes from hydrodynamic stability study, and particularly on the flow patterns data from open literature. We discuss the experimental and analytical flow patterns in comparison with the results by the code. The results by the model are in a reasonable agreement with earlier published work.Finally, we focus on the initiation of the flow inside the wellbore. The wellbore considered as a long pipe starting from horizontal section and coming to surface with steep inclination. The inflow of reservoir fluids occurs in the horizontal part of the wellbore. The change of wellbore inclination induces transition between different flow regimes. The impact of realistic wellbore trajectories on the dynamics of the wellbore flow is studied.Copyright © 2012 by ASME


The Southern Taiwan Science Park (STSP) is located between Hsinshi Township and Shanhua Township of Tainan County, with the newly-built, high-speed railway running through its eastern side. The low-frequency vibration which was generated by passing high-speed trains causes environmental disturbances to industries within the Park. To address this issue, the implementation of vibration-reduction project with detailed design and construction was provided. The diaphragm wall-type vibration reduction walls will be built along the borderline between Hsinshi Township and Shanhua Township to reduce the impact on industries. The diaphragm wall structure will block groundwater from flowing to affect the underground hydrology. This study was aimed to discuss and assess the best configuration for the vibration reduction effects and environmental impacts. Numerical analysis of the impacts on groundwater hydrology was conducted in two cases. The simulation results indicated that both sides of diaphragm walls developed gaps in groundwater levels. Hence, diaphragm walls effectively reduced adverse impacts on groundwater hydrology with openings at locations where underground pipelines ran. Such variations were within the scope of groundwater level of high water and low water periods. Therefore, surface runoff and land subsidence resulting from the diaphragm wall construction were not severe. As diaphragm walls were made of impermeable materials, pumping water nearby made the groundwater level drawdown effects worse. Groundwater level variations resulting from pumping water were far greater than the regional groundwater level variations after the establishment of diaphragm walls. Special attention must be paid to this situation in follow-up management.


Detecting and quantifying anomalies in urban traffic is critical for real-time alerting or re-routing in the short run and urban planning in the long run. We describe a two-step framework that achieves these two goals in a robust, fast, online, and unsupervised manner. First, we adapt stable principal component pursuit to detect anomalies for each road segment. This allows us to pinpoint traffic anomalies early and precisely in space. Then we group the road-level anomalies across time and space into meaningful anomaly events using a simple graph expansion procedure. These events can be easily clustered, visualized, and analyzed by urban planners. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our system using 7 weeks of anonymized and aggregated cellular location data in Dallas-Fort Worth. We suggest potential opportunities for urban planners and policy makers to use our methodology to make informed changes. These applications include real-time re-routing of traffic in response to abnormally high traffic, or identifying candidates for high-impact infrastructure projects.


Dendritic cells (DCs) are part of the immune system and can internalize pathogens by carbohydrate receptors. The uptake induces maturation and migration of the DCs resulting in an adaptive immune response by presenting antigens to T‐cells. Thus, targeted delivery to DCs is a powerful tool for immunotherapy. However, in blood, specific targeting is challenging as blood proteins adsorb to the nanocarriers and mask the targeting molecules. Additionally, covalent coupling of targeting groups to nanocarriers requires new chemistry for each nanocarrier, while a general strategy is missing. A general protocol by noncovalent adsorption of mannosylated polyphosphoesters (PPEs) on the nanocarriers' surface resulting in specific uptake into DCs combined with low protein adsorption of PPEs is presented. PPEs with hydrophobic anchors and multiple mannose units are reported and adsorbed to different model nanocarriers. Their protein corona remain similar to pure stealth nanocarriers and prove only low uptake into nontargeted cells (monocytes). Due to the "stealth" properties of PPEs, a high specific uptake into DCs is achieved after incubation in human blood plasma, proving an efficient combination of "stealth" and targeting after simple adsorption of the PPEs. This strategy can transform any nanocarrier into DC‐targeting by noncovalent adsorption of PPEs and will aid in developing novel immunotherapies.


In this chapter, it is shown that the interpretation of even fundamental tests for permeability such as the high pressure test described in Chapter 4 is not as simple as it would appear. It was observed that, depending on the strength of the sample, the permeability either increased or decreased during the testing process. Also the results were affected by sample size. This makes the measurements difficult to interpret due to experimental effects of sample size and changes of flow with time. However, the results did not change significantly with pressure, and results obtained for tests with water were not significantly different when synthetic leachate was tested.


Ionic polymer–metal composites have been widely used as actuators for robotic systems. In this article, we investigate and verify the characteristics of ionic polymer–metal composite actuators experimentally and theoretically. Two analytical models are utilized to analyze the performance of ionic polymer–metal composites: a linear irreversible electro-dynamical model and a dynamic model. We find that the first model accurately predicts the static characteristics of the ionic polymer–metal composite according to the Onsager equations, while the second model is able to reveal the back relaxation characteristics of the ionic polymer–metal composite. We combine the static and dynamic models of the ionic polymer–metal composite and derive the transfer function for the ionic polymer–metal composite's mechanical response to an electrical signal. A driving signal with a smooth slope and a low frequency is beneficial for the power efficiency.


Centella asiatica (L.) Urban (Apiaceae) is a small perennial, prostrate herb indigenous to India, south-eastern Asia, United States and Africa. It is used to treat anxiety, asthma, blood circulation, cancer, colds, cough, elephantiasis, epilepsy, fevers, gastrointestinal problems, hepatic, skin and urinary tract diseases, hydrocele, hypertension, hysteria, insomnia, rheumatism, scleroderma, strangury, ulcers and wounds. Plants have an enormous potential for the management and treatment of different kind of illness. The active constituents of this plant induce the healing and regeneration of the lost tissue by multiple mechanisms. Plants gives us phytomedicines and these phytomedicines are not only cheap and affordable but are also safe as hyper sensitive reactions are rarely encountered with the use of these agents. The presence of various life-sustaining constituents in plants has urged scientist to examine these plants with a view to determine potential wound healing properties Phytochemical investigation of a methanolic extract of the leaves resulted in the isolation of five new compounds characterized as urs-12-en-3β-ol-28-oic acid-3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-2′- arachidate (ursolic acid glucosidic arachidate (1), urs-12-en-3β-ol-28-oic acid 3-O-β-D-xylopyranosyl-(2′→1′′)-O-β-D- xylopyranoside (ursolic acid 3-O-β-D-dixyloside (3), n-dodecanoyl-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(6′→1′′)-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(6′′→1′′′)-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-6′′′→1′′′′)- O-β-D-glucopyranoside (lauroyl tetraglucoside (5), n-octanoyl-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(6a→1b)-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(6b→1c)-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(6c→1d)-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(6d→1e)–O-β-D-gluco- pyranoside (caproyl pentaglucoside (6) and ursan-3β-ol-28-al-3-O-α-L-arabinopyranosyl-(2a→1b)-O-α-L-arabinopyranosyl-(2b→1c)-O-α-L-arabinopyranosyl-(2c→1d)-O-α-L-glucopyranosyl-(2d→1e)-O-α-L-glucopyranosyl-(2e→1f)-O-α-L-glucopyranoside (ursolic aldehyde 3-O-α-L-hexaglycoside (7) along with two known phytoconstituents identified as n-decanoyl-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl- (6′→1′′)-O-β-D- glucopyranoside (n-capryl diglucoside (2) and glyceryl 1-decanoyl –2- phosphate (4), The structures of these phytoconstituents have been elucidated on the basis of spectral analysis and chemical reactions.


Political advertising has changed drastically over the last several decades with video advertising becoming a major force in all outlets from the traditional TV medium to online media. In this work, we attempt to automatically classify the political advertisements along various dimensions such as purpose, content and emotion. First, we use a crowd-sourcing method to annotate the political advertisements in terms of how viewers perceive them along the above mentioned aspects. Then, we use audio-based features and machine learning algorithms for automatic classification tasks. In particular, we deploy speech-related features along with support vector machine (SVM) and music-related features along with k-nearest neighbor (KNN). The analysis of crowd-sourced annotations shows that the same advertisements are often used to serve multiple purpose and that certain content categories such as speech clips from the candidate and other public figures are more prevalent. The experimental results using speech/audio features on advertisements aired during the U.S. presidential campaign of 2012 show promising classification performance.