Flaky tests are tests that can non-deterministically pass or fail for the same code version. These tests undermine regression testing efficiency, because developers cannot easily identify whether a test fails due to their recent changes or due to flakiness. Ideally, one would detect flaky tests right when flakiness is introduced, so that developers can then immediately remove the flakiness. Some software organizations, e.g., Mozilla and Netflix, run some tools—detectors—to detect flaky tests as soon as possible. However, detecting flaky tests is costly due to their inherent non-determinism, so even state-of-the-art detectors are often impractical to be used on all tests for each project change. To combat the high cost of applying detectors, these organizations typically run a detector solely on newly added or directly modified tests, i.e., not on unmodified tests or when other changes occur (including changes to the test suite, the code under test, and library dependencies). However, it is unclear how many flaky tests can be detected or missed by applying detectors in only these limited circumstances. To better understand this problem, we conduct a large-scale longitudinal study of flaky tests to determine when flaky tests become flaky and what changes cause them to become flaky. We apply two state-of-theart detectors to 55 Java projects, identifying a total of 245 flaky tests that can be compiled and run in the code version where each test was added. We find that 75% of flaky tests (184 out of 245) are flaky when added, indicating substantial potential value for developers to run detectors specifically on newly added tests. However, running detectors solely on newly added tests would still miss detecting 25% of flaky tests. The percentage of flaky tests that can be detected does increase to 85% when detectors are run on newly added or directly modified tests. The remaining 15% of flaky tests become flaky due to other changes and can be detected only when detectors are always applied to all tests. Our study is the first to empirically evaluate when tests become flaky and to recommend guidelines for applying detectors in the future.


Garissa County have experiences decline rate on policy development in health care sector for many years now. The statistics in Garissa indicate that the county is facing lots of challenges related to health issues. Therefore, the main objective of the study was investigated citizen participation and policy development in devolved governments in Kenya. This study seeks to benefit Garissa County Government, policy makers and the Government of Kenya in terms of policy development or action plan and future researchers as point of reference. Descriptive research design will be used. Data was collected from 48 MCAs, 42 county officials and 1143 members of public in Garissa County. Simple random sampling was used to sample 30% of the target population. The sample size was 370 respondents. Data was analysed through the use of descriptive and inferential analysis. The findings of the study indicated that explanation on the need for a healthcare service or project was not always done. Public approving healthcare project on merits was found to be highly practiced but there was a great concern on citizen participating in the implementation of the projects. It was clear that a small percentage of women and youth were involved in public forums, approval of county projects and participation in gauging the county project status. To completely eliminate the constraints to women's participation in policy development, retrogressive beliefs should be written off and gender roles realigned to enhance women's empowerment and aggravate women's participation, the issue of girl child education needs to be fostered to help curb illiteracy levels amongst womenfolk, enlighten women and the public in general through a thorough civic education exercise. The study recommends that public forums on policy development should always be publicized. The study also recommends that explanation on health care policy implementation by the county officials should be done always.


Plasma membranes were prepared from livers of normal and N -2-fluorenylacetamide-ingesting rats. Of the two marker enzymes studied, the activity of 5′-nucleotidase was markedly decreased, whereas that of Mg2+-Na+-K+-ATPase was unaffected in the membranes from animals fed the carcinogen. The percentage of phospholipids in the preneoplastic and neoplastic liver membranes was very much higher than in the controls, and the phospholipid:cholesterol ratio was also significantly enhanced. The percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids was higher in these membranes than in the plasma membranes of normal liver. Unlike in preparations from normal livers, a large amount of floating fraction ( d < 1.16) was invariably observed in membrane preparations from preneoplastic and neoplastic livers.


Men attending the Andrology Laboratory for the first time were asked to complete questionnaires regarding their employment, lifestyle, diet and infancy for the Chemicals and Pregnancy Study UK (CHAPS-UK) research study. CHAPS-UK is a multi-centre study investigating reasons for male infertility. During one interview, a patient expressed concerns about his sexual relationship with his wife. Initially, he described his concerns about infertility but as the nurse used her counselling skills, the patient was able to voice his psychosexual difficulties. This was the first time in 5 years of marriage the patient talked about his situation to another person. The research nurse was able to combine good communication and counselling skills to facilitate the patient's need to face his problem, which enabled him to make a constructive decision about his need for further help. This case highlights the difficult situation in which fertility nurses can find themselves and reinforces the need for nurses involved in the care of infertile couples to have training in counselling skills and the ability to make appropriate referral to an infertility counsellor when required.


Influences of genotype and sex on responses to porcine somatotropin (pST) administered by daily injection were examined in genetically lean and obese gilts and barrows. Pigs (59 +/- 1.4 kg BW, eight per pST dose x line x sex) were injected daily with pST at doses of 0, 2, and 4 mg/d for 6 wk. Administration of pST induced dose-dependent decreases in feed intake and rate of backfat deposition, whereas rate and efficiency of gain were increased in a quadratic manner indicating that 4 mg of pST/d approached the optimal dose. These live measures of growth were also influenced (P < .05) by sex and line. Line, sex, and pST dose effects (P < .05) were noted for most offal components and carcass components. Quantity of lean and bone in the ham was increased (P < .01) and that of fat decreased (P < .01) with dose of pST. Throughout the trial pST induced increases (P < .05) in serum concentrations of IGF-I, IGF-II, insulin, and glucose and decreases in urea nitrogen. Concentrations of pST 24 h after injection were lower (P < .05) in pST-injected pigs than in buffer-injected pigs, indicating negative feedback on endogenous pST secretion. The pST-induced increases (P < .05) in insulin, IGF-I, and IGF-II and the decrease in urea nitrogen were evident at 24 h after the initial injection. Although pST administration improved the growth performance and composition of lean and obese barrows and gilts, the influences of line and sex were not expunged by administration of pST.


The second phase of federal reforms, announced by the Kremlin in September 2004 fit into the general logic of reform under President Vladimir Putin. After a series of criminal investigations launched against regional governors, the Kremlin declared war against them. The governors have been the Kremlin's target since Putin came to power in 2000, and it was only due to the upcoming Duma elections that the Kremlin concluded a ceasefire with them in early 2003. In the absence of independent party leaders and with oligarchs diminished by the Kremlin, the governors had replaced both as independent political actors.


This paper, as a continuing work of [1], focus on establishing the fact that if we equip a reciprocal multi-agent (RMA) system with a triangulated Laman graph (TLG), then the associated potential function is generically an equivariant Morse function, i.e, there are only finitely many critical orbits each of which is nondegenerate. Though this assumption on the potential function of being an equivariant Morse function has been used, and in fact indispensable, in several occasions. But it is actually still an open question whether it is true for a given RMA system. Thus, in this paper we will provide a confirmative answer to the question for the class of RMA systems with TLGs. The main result, as well as the analysis of this paper, has many implications for other difficult problems.


The application of ultra-small super-paramagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (USPIONs) as versatile diagnostic probes for multimodal imaging in biomedicine, including via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET), requires hydrophilic and biocompatible surface coatings. Herein, we describe the development of USPIONs stabilised by octylamine-modified polyacrylic acid (OPA) and the subsequent conjugation of a 64Cu(II) chelator, N-(4-aminophenyl)-2-[4,7-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)-1,4,7-triazacyclononan-1-yl]acetamide (amino-dmptacn), for radioactivity-based detection. Transmission electron microscopic analysis and dynamic light scattering measurements confirmed the monodispersity and stability of the OPA-USPIONs in aqueous media and revealed a hydrodynamic size of ca. 15 nm. Furthermore, the biocompatibility and cellular uptake efficiency of the functionalised USPIONs was investigated in a range of normal and tumour cell lines. The results clearly show a cell type- as well as time-dependent internalisation of the OPA-USPIONs via active energy-dependent pathways. Biocompatibility of OPA-USPIONs in the concentration range of 10–50 μg mL−1 was demonstrated, while impairment of cellular viability was observed for human umbilical vein endothelial cells at 100 μg mL−1. Upon exposure to human serum, several biomolecules cover the negatively-charged surface of the nanoparticles and a biomolecular corona is formed. Nonetheless, the nanoparticles represent a promising platform for the future development of a bimodal PET-MRI tumour-imaging agent.


[1] There have been three Cassini encounters with the south-pole eruptive plume of Enceladus for which the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) had viewing in the spacecraft ram direction. In each case, CAPS detected a cold dense population of heavy charged particles having mass-to-charge (m/q) ratios up to the maximum detectable by CAPS (∼104 amu/e). These particles are interpreted as singly charged nanometer-sized water-ice grains. Although they are detected with both negative and positive net charges, the former greatly outnumber the latter, at least in the m/q range accessible to CAPS. On the most distant available encounter (E3, March 2008) we derive a net (negative) charge density of up to ∼2600 e/cm3 for nanograins, far exceeding the ambient plasma number density, but less than the net (positive) charge density inferred from the RPWS Langmuir probe data during the same plume encounter. Comparison of the CAPS data from the three available encounters is consistent with the idea that the nanograins leave the surface vents largely uncharged, but become increasingly negatively charged by plasma electron impact as they move farther from the satellite. These nanograins provide a potentially potent source of magnetospheric plasma and E-ring material.


ABSTRACT
A palette of materials has been developed by the oil and gas sector. The expected depletion of fossil resources and the stress on the climate from burning them has, however, turned the world's attention to renewable resources. To develop competitive high quality products from renewable resources, is indeed a challenge for the research community.

Cellulose is a renewable material with a variety of properties depending on source, processing and other modifications. In liquid food packaging the cellulose-based carton is combined with plastics to make the package impermeable to water. The production of carton packages with a shapeable cellulosic material would be an interesting way to enhance its function, reduce the amount of fossil-based material in it and to make it more competitive towards plastic bottles.

In this work, cellulose was made shapeable through blending with moldable polyethene. Esterified cellulose was used in order to increase the interfacial adhesion and the dispersion of cellulose in composites. Esters with various hydrophobicities, carbonyl hydrogen-bonding and degree of substitution were prepared. It was concluded that the fiber dispersion in the composites could be both improved and impaired by the esterification. Moreover, the eventual benefits of esterification on the interfacial adhesion, was counteracted by weakening and fragmentation of the fibers because of the chemical treatment and the mechanical processing.

Cellulose was also made shapeable through coagulation of the cellulose-ionic liquid solutions with a coagulation agent (e.g. water), to obtain shapeable three-component gels. The strength, the stiffness and the thermal degradation, were found to depend on the types and amounts of the gel constituents. By regeneration of cellulose, from the gels, stiff regenerated cellulose was obtained.


This study demonstrates that a recent development in the strategic management literature, the resource-based view of the firm, has great utility for furthering our understanding of sport sponsorship. The paper provides a theoretical framework to explain the application of the approach to sponsorship. Illustration and greater insight are then provided through the presentation of two case studies. These are used to identify the salient characteristics of agreements made by two international companies, each of which has been extensively involved in sport sponsorship but with varying degrees of success. The resource-based approach is used to demonstrate that the disparate returns of the companies' sponsorship investments could have been anticipated. As such, as well as providing a conceptual extension to the sponsorship literature, the paper also offers a route for more empirical analyses of potential sponsorship opportunities.


Conduits of water pipelines are subjected to huge internal pressure for conveying water. Cracks induced by water pollution, material defects and seismic excitation may be forming on a conduit to cause damage. This phenomenon generating stress concentration threatens the safety of a conduit. Thus, techniques to monitor the strain variation of a cracked member are essential. Based on the assumption of linear elastic material, the application of the infinitely small element analysis in a crack problem for numerical simulation was validated. Herein, this research reveals that Digital Image Correlation, DIC, technique is a new manner of surveying the practical strain distribution of a member. By the cracked cylindrical pipe test, the DIC method is used to observe the strain variation in the micro-region surrounding the crack tip. Additionally, to utilize the skills of meshing digital image into subimages increases the precision of analyzing a crack problem via the DIC method. According to the experiment in this research, the capacity of DIC method for capturing a crack progress is validated.


BACKGROUND
Doxorubicin is a significant drug for the treatment of breast cancer, but its cardiotoxicity is an obvious obstacle. Previously, we confirmed that ruthenium complex (∆-Ru1) and doxorubicin (∆-Ru1/Dox) combination had a synergistic effect in MCF-7 cells, but its biological effect in vivo is unknown.

PURPOSE
In order to find a way to overcome the toxicity of doxorubicin and build MCF-7 xenograft tumor mouse model to test whether this potential combination has better efficacy and less toxicity.

METHODS
The tumor model of nude mice was established to verify the synergistic antitumor effect of the drug combination in vivo. H&E staining was used to detect the toxicity of major organs in mice. Sirius red staining and transmission electron microscopy were used to detect cardiotoxicity. Prussian blue was used to measure iron accumulation in heart tissue. TUNEL staining was used to detect the antitumor effect in vivo. Immunohistochemical staining was used to detect the expression of iron death-related pathway proteins. High-throughput sequencing techniques were used to determine the molecular mechanism of ferroptosis.

RESULTS
Histopathological analysis of tumor tissues indicated that the ∆-Ru1/Dox combination significantly promoted tumor cell apoptosis. Doxorubicin damaged cardiac tissue by inducing fibrosis and iron accumulation, but it was reversed by the ∆-Ru1/Dox combination treatment. Further exploration found that doxorubicin could regulate iron accumulation in the ferroptosis pathway and the expression of lipid peroxidation-related proteins, including upregulation of Tf, DMT1, and HO-1, and downregulation of Nrf2, SLC7A11, and GPX4.

CONCLUSION
∆-Ru1/Dox combination synergistically inhibits tumor growth, and it can significantly reduce and alleviate the toxic side effects of doxorubicin, especially the cardiac injury.


In this monthly column, Aysha Mendes discusses the role of the nurse in facilitating the aspects of care that contribute to nurturing a patient's dignity and argues that the small things, as well as the big things, can have a valuable impact on a person's self-worth and quality of life.


This paper is an investigation into the optimal scenario for the placement and operation of public charging points for electric vehicles. The points will be placed in semi-large Dutch municipalities during 2013 up to 2015 and operated until 2020. Different cost-, incomeand organisation measures are combined using scenario planning, showing the financial impact on the budget of the charging point operator. Interviews held with involved stakeholders on the measures and scenarios reveal their opinions and preferences. Combining the analyses leads to a recommendation on optimal measure combinations to stimulate the placement and operation of public charging points.


Tsuda Sokichi (1873-1961) is a Japanese historian and thinker, known as one of the leading intellectuals in modern Japanese society. He examined Japanese way of thinking in each different era and presented a new way of Japan's esprit which would fit in his own time. In this paper, I would like to discuss his interpretation of Japanese ancient thought. In the first half, I would review Tsuda's thought on Kojiki and Nohonshoki, in contrast to the thought of Siratori Kurakiti's and Inoue Tetsuziro's. In the latter half, comparing with Tsuda's research of Chinese ancient thought, I would like to analyze Ancient Japanese sense of beauty and view of nature, their thought and feelings, all of which are important elements for their interpersonal relationship.


The aim of this study is the development and evaluation of a rapid and accurate quantitative PCR (qPCR)-based protocol for detection of zoonotic pathogen Streptococcus iniae in bacterial cultures and tissues of diseased fish. For this purpose, the lactate permease-encoding (lldY) gene was selected as a target for the design of S. iniae-specific primers based on comparative genomic analysis using 45 sequences retrieved from NCBI genome database. Specificity and applicability of these primers were tested using 115 bacterial strains and fish tissues infected with S. iniae. Sensitivity, reproducibility and efficiency of qPCR assay were also determined. The developed qPCR assay showed 100% specificity with pure bacterial cultures or DNA extracted from S. iniae or tissues of fish infected with the bacterium. The method has high sensitivity with a detection limit of 1.12 × 101 amplicon copies per assay (equivalent to 2 × 10-9  ng/µl) using bacterial DNA and of 1.44 × 101 gene copies in tissues of fish infected with S. iniae. In conclusion, this qPCR protocol provides an accurate and sensitive alternative for the identification of S. iniae and its detection on fish tissues that can be implemented as a routine tool in microbiological laboratories.


ABSTRACT The bio-preservation of fruits using bacteriocinogenic lactic acid bacteria (BLAB) isolated directly from cow dung and curd was an innovative approach. The objectives of this study were to isolate and identify Bacteriocin producing LAB from various curd and cow dung samples, evaluate their antimicrobial effects of BLAB against selected fruits spoiling and pathogenic microorganisms in vitro. LAB was isolated using MRS media. The well-diffusion bioassay was used to screen for Bacteriocin-Like Inhibitory Substance (BLIS) producing LAB Salimicrobium Bacillus, Paenibacillus and Lactobacillus. BLIS producing LAB were tested against 25 fruit flora of selected fruits. These LABs were also tested against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas aeroginosa, Proteus vulgaris, Salmonella typhi, Serritia spp, Xanthomonas campestris, and also against Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus nigar, Fusarium, Alternaria, Saccharomyces cerevisiae using the diffusion bioassay plate method. The antagonistic activity was also studied against pathogenic fruit flora which has been isolated from fruits. These BLISs showed a wide range of antibacterial activity against tested, fruit-spoilage and fruit-borne pathogens and able to extend the shelf life of fruits. Bacteriocinogenic LAB present in curd and cow dung may have potential to be used as bio-preservatives of tested fruits.


The water pollution affecting human health is a crisis and big test, which tests the mainstream news media's ability and level of communication to respond to major public opinions and public emergencies. The contaminated water is a crisis and a major test, which tests the ability and level of communication of major news outlets to respond to important common views and emergencies. It aims to understand the perception and attitude of the international mainstream media towards China during the contaminated water. The work sorted out the mainstream media's reporting of China from the contaminated water to the present and selected the New York Times, The Times, and the Guardian as examples. We could understand the changes in China's international image during the water pollution through these mainstream media reports on China. The results show that these media reports on water pollution in China mainly focused on negative public opinion, which accounted for more than 70% of the total number of reports. Western developed countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States are out of consideration for their national interests. Using mainstream media to create public opinion that is not conducive to China, advocating "neo-colonialism", "China threat theory" and other false statements, trying to limit China's influence, due to the difference in cognitive habits and the influence of British and American media hegemony also affects the country The communication and understanding between the two have brought obstacles.


Purpose Community Client-Led ART Delivery groups (CCLADS) were introduced as part of the differentiated service delivery models in 2017 to better serve growing number of HIV patients and reduce unnecessary burden on the HIV care delivery system. However, there is limited evidence on the exact patients' and care providers' experiences and perceptions regarding the CCLADS model of ART delivery. We therefore aimed to explore the experiences and perceptions on CCLADS model from the patient and provider perspectives. Participants and Methods A descriptive qualitative study was conducted at two ART clinics in Southwestern Uganda. We conducted in-depth interviews (IDI) to get a deeper understanding of the patient and providers' perspective regarding the model. Responses from participants were recorded using audio recorders and were translated and transcribed. We used thematic approach to analyze the data. Results A total of 20 in depth interviews were conducted, with providers, CCLAD leaders and Adults Living with HIV (ALHIV) to assess the experiences and perceptions to participation among People Living with HIV (PLHIV) enrolled in CCLADS and the care providers. Key themes included benefits, limitations, experiences and perceptions of CCLADS. Benefits to ALHIV included: Longer refills, reduced transport costs, receive drugs in time, peer advice; to providers: time saving, less tiresome and reduced congestion at facility. Barriers included: stigma, limited outreaches, failure to comply. Patients perceived the model positively (cost effective, improved quality care, no missed appointment where as others were negative (blood samples not taken like before). Experiences also included enough time, learnt some activities and good adherence. Conclusion Participation in the CCLADS groups provides several benefits to the patient including reduced transport, longer refills and good adherence. Stigma remains a challenge to CCLADS participation, which requires innovative and collaborative strategies from Ministry of Health (MOH) and implementation partners to address in order to sustain CCLADS participation.


This paper discusses a method for machine-specific energy estimation in milling processes using the unit process life cycle inventory (UPLCI) model. To this end, we develop a standard methodology for constructing an adjusted UPLCI model that includes adjustment factors for uncertainties in machine tool specifications and the specific cutting energy of a workpiece material. The adjustment factors are calculated through experimental measurement of energy consumption for a standard test part on a specific machine tool. To validate the adjusted UPLCI model, we conducted a case study which experimentally measured the energy consumption for machining three parts made of Aluminum 6082 on a Chevalier QP2040-L three-axis vertical milling machine. Results show that the UPLCI model consistently overestimated the total energy consumption for machining the three parts and had significant estimation errors (314%, 499%, 286%). The largest sources of error in the UPLCI model were from overestimating the idle and basic power consumption of the machine tool. The adjusted UPLCI model significantly reduced the estimation errors for the same tests (27%, 0.3%, 36%).


A trial was conducted in a commercial feedlot in southern Alberta, Canada to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of metaphylactic treatment with tilmicosin for control of bovine respiratory disease. First-pull treatment rates for BRD (P=0.006) and arthritis (P=0.02) were significantly lower in calves administered tilmicosin on arrival compared to non-medicated controls. Calves treated with tilmicosin at arrival-processing had gained an additional 20 lb (9.1 kg) at terminal weight sort (P=0.0002), with higher average daily gain (P=0.0001) and lower dry matter conversion (P=0.008). The cost- benefit of tilmicosin metaphylaxis in these feedlot calves depended on the method of calculation. Based on reductions in BRD and arthritis treatment rates and reduced feed costs because of improved dry matter conversion, there was a net advantage of $3.41CAN/head for those calves given tilmicosin on arrival compared to non-medicated controls. Based on improved treatment rates and additional weight gain, the net advantage was $8.09CAN/head for those calves given tilmicosin compared to non-medicated controls. These economic calculations assumed performance benefits observed at terminal weight sort were retained until slaughter, approximately 30 to 40 days later.


Dear Madam,
We are amidst a pandemic of coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) that began in late 2019 and has quickly spread worldwide. It has a wide diversity of clinical features in adults and life-threatening complications in people with underlying co-morbidities. For reasons not completely understood, the paediatric population infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) presents with less severe clinical symptoms when compared to the adult population [1]. In April 2020, a mysterious hyper-inflammatory syndrome mimicking Kawasaki disease (KD) appeared in children that came about as sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection and termed multisystemic inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) [2]. MIS-C, otherwise known as "paediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome temporarily associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2" (PIMS-TS), manifests with a wide variety of clinical features, a few of them found among these children are a fever that lasts for more than 3-4 days, mucocutaneous involvement such as conjunctivitis and rash and gastrointestinal symptoms like diarrhoea and vomiting [2]. One of the feared complications of MIS-C is multi-organ dysfunction, with cardiovascular being the frequent one.
Recently, a new strain of SARS-CoV-2 called (Delta) variant, also known as lineage B.1.617.2, has paved its way into Pakistan [3]. This variant produces a high amount of viral load and is twice as contagious as the original strain of SARS-CoV-2 [4]. Although there are currently no studies showing increased risk of developing MIS-C associated with this variant, the high transmission rate puts the paediatric population at increased risk of contracting the virus. The signs and symptoms of this syndrome overlap with many other bacterial and viral childhood illnesses making it difficult to diagnose. Therefore, the world health organization (WHO) has prepared a preliminary case definition that characterizes the clinical patterns that include duration of fever, serum markers of inflammation and evidence of prior infection with SARS-CoV-2 to better identify and start early interventions for this syndrome [5]. A report from Italy revealed a staggering 30-fold rise in KD like cases in children during the outbreak of COVID-19 [6].
As the new exceedingly contagious strain of (Delta) variant is on the rise in Pakistan, there is a high chance that the number of children with COVID-19 related MIS-C may escalate. In summary, children presenting with unexplained fever, rash, and contact history with a COVID-19 infected should be suspected of MIS-C and treated accordingly with the guidelines provided by WHO.
Continue...


The majority of all power cuts that affects individuals and communities are caused by earth faults on the power transmission lines at 10kV and 20kV level [1]. If these power cuts could be eliminated, less disturbances and interrupts would lead to large amounts of money savings. Swedish Neutral has developed such a protection system. When an earth fault occurs power is injected into the neutral point of the transformer. The RCC (Residual Current Compensation) protection calculates a compensation current exactly 180 degrees out of phase to the fault current. Doing this, the voltage at the fault location becomes very close to zero, without affecting the power transmission. The protection system can only compensate automatically for the fundamental frequency (50Hz), and manually for the 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th harmonics. In most cases, when the harmonics are very small it is not necessary to compensate for them. There are though cases when compensation for the harmonics is necessary. This thesis focuses on finding the best method to extract the content of a sampled signal regarding both simplicity and speed. Both amplitude and phase of each harmonic must be calculated. Is the proposed method suitable for the current computer system and how can it easily be implemented. Because the fundamental frequency is known and the harmonics are all multiples of the fundamental frequency it makes the task less complex. It is not necessary to use the FFT algorithm. The DFT can be calculated using correlation. Both phase and amplitude can be calculated very precisely with few samples and not so many computer operations.


In mobile adhoc network (MANET), the previous work of the authors considered route recovery technique based on route failures alone and doesn't consider the packet drops due to congestion. The congestion is likely to occur when incoming traffic exceeds the network capacity which results in increased delay and packet loss. In order to overcome these issues, in this paper, congestion detection and recovery technique is proposed in mobile ad hoc network. In this technique, each node estimates the parameters such as queue length, data rate, and medium access control (MAC) contention. The upper and lower limit of these parameters is compared and node is marked with the congestion status such as normal, medium or high level. When data is to be transmitted from the source to destination, the intermediate nodes along the path verify its congestion status. If the congestion status of any one node is high or congestion status of more than one node is medium, a warning message will be sent to the source. The source then selects the alternate congestion free path for data transmission. By simulation results, it is estimated that the proposed technique reduces the packet drop due to congestion and increases the packet delivery ratio.


The ambition of lab-on-a-chip (LOC) systems to achieve chip-level integration of a complete analytical process capable of performing a complex set of biomedical protocols is hindered by the absence of standard fluidic components able to be assembled. As a result, most microfluidic platforms built to date are highly specialized and designed to fulfill the requirements of a single particular application within a limited set of operations. Electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD) digital microfluidic technology has been recently introduced as a new methodology in the quest for LOC systems. Herein, unit volume droplets are manipulated along electrode arrays, allowing a microfluidic function to be reduced to a set of basic operations. The highly reprogrammable architecture of these systems can satisfy the needs of a diverse set of biochemical assays and ensure reconfigurability, flexibility and portability between different categories of applications and requirements. While important progress was made over past years in the fabrication, miniaturization and function programming of the basic EWOD fluidic operations, the success of this technology will in great part depend on the ability of researchers to couple or integrate digital microfluidics to detection approaches that can make the system competitive for LOC applications. The detection techniques should be able to circumvent the limitations of hydrophobic surfaces and exploit the advantages of the array format, high droplet transport speeds and rapid mixing schemes. This review provides an in-depth look at recent developments for the coupling and integration of detection techniques with digital microfluidic platforms for bio-chemical applications.


Introduction: Thyroid diseases are not uncommon in women of reproductive age with an estimation of 5-15%. The thyroid gland must produce 50% more thyroid hormone in pregnancy in order to maintain euthyroidism and for foetal wellbeing.
Aims and Objectives: To study the effect of hypothyroidism in pregnant women, attending for ante-natal check-up to the dept. of OBG – GGH, Guntur.
Inclusion Criteria: Pregnant women with hypothyroidism with or without treatment, pregnant woman in euthyroid state.
Exclusion Criteria: Pregnant women with hyperthyroidism, smoking alcoholism, chronic infections, systemic illness and diabetes/impaired glucose tolerance and hypertension.
Materials and Methods: Singleton pregnant women aged ? 18 years TSH >2.5µIU/ml in first trimester and TSH >3µIU/ml in second and third trimester with normal T4 levels are included as cases. Controls are age and trimester matched healthy first, second and third trimester, singleton euthyroid pregnant women.
Results: The present study was carried out on age matched 120 pregnant women of which 60 are hypothyroid and 60 are euthyroid. Out of 60 cases 3 cases (5%) are with overt hypothyroidism and 57 cases (95%) are with subclinical hypothyroidism.

Keywords: Overt thyroid, Subclinical thyroid, TSH-Thyroid stimulating hormone, Chemiluminescence, Maternal serum sample.


: Positional accuracy of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) is limited by several error sources like troposphere, ionosphere, instrumental bias, clock, multipath etc. Among these error sources, multipath is quite significant, since it should be dynamically modeled with respect to user GNSS receiver environment. In this paper, multipath error is estimated based on both code and carrier phase measurements using CMC (code minus carrier) technique. It is quantified with experimental static dual frequency Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver data. The time series of multipath data is analyzed with other satellite parameters like elevation and azimuth angles of satellite vehicle (SV). Multipath error is estimated for all SVs and is analyzed for sequential days to predict the multipath error of any SV during the forthcoming days. The results are very much encouraging and significant in prediction of multipath error for GPS/GNSS static applications such as atmospheric research using GNSS satellites data and during site selection phase for installing base stations for continuous monitoring of satellites' data.


Automated reasoning and theorem proving have recently become major challenges for machine learning. In other domains, representations that are able to abstract over unimportant transformations, such as abstraction over translations and rotations in vision, are becoming more common. Standard methods of embedding mathematical formulas for learning theorem proving are however yet unable to handle many important transformations. In particular, embedding previously unseen labels, that often arise in definitional encodings and in Skolemization, has been very weak so far. Similar problems appear when transferring knowledge between known symbols.
We propose a novel encoding of formulas that extends existing graph neural network models. This encoding represents symbols only by nodes in the graph, without giving the network any knowledge of the original labels. We provide additional links between such nodes that allow the network to recover the meaning and therefore correctly embed such nodes irrespective of the given labels. We test the proposed encoding in an automated theorem prover based on the tableaux connection calculus, and show that it improves on the best characterizations used so far. The encoding is further evaluated on the premise selection task and a newly introduced symbol guessing task, and shown to correctly predict 65% of the symbol names.


The unusual superconducting (SC) phase transitions occuring under competing orbital and spin pair breaking, which characterize clean strongly type-II superconductors at low temperatures, are investigated within a non-perturbative approach, which avoides the difficulties encountered in various perturbative approaches and enables comparison with recent experimental data. It is shown that in a 3D system with strong spin-splitting, a spatial (FFLO) modulation of the order parameter along the magnetic-field direction preserves the continuous nature of the SC transition. However, at a magnetic field slightly below Hc2 the FFLO state becomes unstable, transforming discontinuously into a uniform SC state via a first-order phase transition. Our calculation shows that the entropy jump at the first-order phase transition is siginificantly larger than its total variation in the continuous region between the two transitions, in agreement with recent thermal-conductivity measurements performed on the heavy-fermion compound URu2Si2.


Context. With a rapidly rising number of transients detected in astronomy, classification methods based on machine learning are increasingly being employed. Their goals are typically to obtain a definitive classification of transients, and for good performance they usually require the presence of a large set of observations. However, well-designed, targeted models can reach their classification goals with fewer computing resources. Aims. The aim of this study is to assist in the observational astronomy task of deciding whether a newly detected transient warrants follow-up observations. Methods. This paper presents SNGuess , a model designed to find young extragalactic nearby transients with high purity. SNGuess works with a set of features that can be efficiently calculated from astronomical alert data. Some of these features are static and associated with the alert metadata, while others must be calculated from the photometric observations contained in the alert. Most of the features are simple enough to be obtained or to be calculated already at the early stages in the lifetime of a transient after its detection. We calculate these features for a set of labeled public alert data obtained over a time span of 15 months from the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF). The core model of SNGuess consists of an ensemble of decision trees, which are trained via gradient boosting. Results. Approximately 88% of the candidates suggested by SNGuess from a set of alerts from ZTF spanning from April 2020 to August 2021 were found to be true relevant supernovae (SNe). For alerts with bright detections, this number ranges between 92% and 98%. Since April 2020, transients identified by SNGuess as potential young SNe in the ZTF alert stream are being published to the Transient Name Server (TNS) under the AMPEL_ZTF_NEW group identifier. SNGuess scores for any transient observed by ZTF can be accessed via a web service https://ampel.zeuthen.desy.de/api/live/docs . The source code of SNGuess is publicly available https://github.com/nmiranda/SNGuess . Conclusions. SNGuess is a lightweight, portable, and easily re-trainable model that can effectively suggest transients for follow-up. These properties make it a useful tool for optimizing follow-up observation strategies and for assisting humans in the process of selecting candidate transients.


A dedicated anti-SARS bioinformatics web site was setup in April 2003 at the Centre of bioinformatics (CBI), Peking University (http://antisars.cbi.pku.edu.cn/). A special bioinformatics platform was constructed to analyse the sequence and structure data of SARS coronavirus and other viruses. A total file of 32 SARS coronavirus genome sequences was retrieved from GenBank and mismatches in 30 sites were revealed from the result of multiple sequence alignment. The SARS coronavirus genome sequences can be divided into three groups based on the phylogenetic analysis using the data set constructed from the sequence mismatches.


Pertussis is a vaccine-preventable disease with an incidence that has been trending upwards in the United States over the last two decades. This is evident by an increase in the incidence from 10,100 cases in 1974 to a peak of >48,000 cases noted in the last decade. Pertussis disease severity ranges from mild to severe, with resultant complications capable of causing significant morbidity and mortality. We report a case of pertussis in a 5-week-old female infant who presented with fever, paroxysms of cough, apnea, and seizures leading to cardiopulmonary arrest. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation lasted 11 minutes before the return of spontaneous circulation. She was transferred to our tertiary facility and admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit. Complete blood count revealed significant leukocytosis, chest X-ray revealed bilateral pulmonary edema with pleural effusion, and echocardiogram demonstrated pulmonary hypertension. Bordetella pertussis infection was confirmed on respiratory polymerase chain reaction. She was treated with antibiotics, ventilatory management, and other supportive care. She was discharged on room air after a hospital course of 7 weeks with care coordination between her primary care provider, pulmonologist, and neurologist. Despite the positive outcome in this case, it is important to note that managing severe pertussis involves multidisciplinary care, and the morbidity and cost implications can be mitigated on a population scale through vaccine optimization strategies.


Subject: the use of the apparatus of temporal logic and probabilistic approaches to construct an explanation of the results of the work of an intelligent system in order to increase the efficiency of using the solutions and recommendations obtained. Purpose: development of a method for constructing explanations in intelligent systems with the ability to form and evaluate several alternative interpretations of the results of the operation of such a system. Tasks: justification for the use of the black box principle for interactive construction of explanations; development of a pattern explanation model that provides for probabilistic estimation; development of a method of interactive construction of explanations on the basis of the probabilistic approach. Methods: methods of data analysis, methods of system analysis, methods of constructing explanations, models of knowledge representation. Results: A model of the explanation pattern is proposed, which contains temporal regulations reflecting the sequence of user interaction with an intelligent system, which allows the formation of explanations based on a comparison of the actions of the current user and other well-known users. An interactive method for constructing explanations based on a probabilistic approach has been developed; the method uses patterns of user interaction with an intelligent system and contains phases of constructing patterns of explanations and forming explanations using the obtained patterns. The method organizes the received explanations according to the likelihood of use, which makes it possible to form target and alternative explanations for the user. Conclusions: The use of the black box principle for the development of a probabilistic approach to the construction of explanations in intelligent systems has been substantiated. A model of a pattern of explanations based on temporal regulations is proposed. The model reflects the sequence of user interaction with the intelligent system when receiving decisions and recommendations and contains an interaction pattern as part of temporal regulations that have weight, and also determines the likelihood of using the user interaction pattern. An interactive method for constructing explanations has been developed, considering the interaction of the user with the intelligent system. The method includes phases and stages of the formation of regulations and patterns of user interaction with the determination of the probability of their implementation, as well as the ordering of patterns according to the probability of their implementation. The implementation of the method was carried out when constructing explanations for recommender systems.


We investigate the effect of mixing two diblock copolymers of identical chemical structure but different molecular weight on self-assembled bilayers, using theoretical concepts of curvature elastic energy. Entropy and chain-chain interactions are found to favour ideal mixing in the two monolayers composing the bilayer, while curvature energy favours an inhomogeneous distribution of chains among the layers and, therefore, vesicle formation. The vesicle phase boundaries are determined as a function of mixture composition and molecular weight. We find that adding a small fraction of shorter chains to a copolymer bilayer is much more effective in destabilizing lamellar bilayers than the addition of a small fraction of longer chains.


Background When tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) therapy fails in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a majority of patients switch to another TNFi instead of a non-TNFi biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (bDMARD).1 The effectiveness of TNFi cycling compared with switching to a non-TNFi agent is not well established. Objectives This study examined treatment effectiveness among patients with RA in a large, commercially insured population who cycled to another TNFi ("TNFi cyclers") compared with those who switched to a non-TNFi agent ("non-TNFi switchers"). Methods Administrative claims from January 2010 to September 2014 were analyzed from the Truven Health MarketScan Commercial database. Eligible patients received a TNFi in the 12 months before the "index" drug (a different TNFi or non-TNFi [bDMARDs or tofacitinib]). The study included adults ages 18 to 64 years with ≥12 months of continuous medical and pharmacy enrollment pre- and post-index, and ≥1 claim for RA (ICD-9-CM 714.0x) pre-index or 30 days post-index with no other autoimmune condition. Treatment effectiveness was defined using a validated algorithm2 that was applied to medical and pharmacy claims for 12 months post-index for each patient. Treatment was considered to be effective if the patient satisfied all 6 algorithm criteria in this period: (1) ≥80% adherence (subcutaneous medication possession ratio or number of intravenous infusions); (2) no increase in dose; (3) no switch to another bDMARD; (4) no new conventional DMARD; (5) no new/increased oral glucocorticoid; and (6) less than 2 glucocorticoid injections in the first 90 days after the index date. Logistic regression was used to compare effectiveness rates by treatment cohort, controlling for baseline demographic and clinical characteristics, including number of prior biologic therapies. Results Of the 6,945 patients who switched from a pre-index TNFi, 5,020 (72.3%) were TNFi cyclers and 1,925 (27.7%) were non-TNFi switchers. Achievement rates for all 6 algorithm criteria combined and for individual criteria in the 12 months post-index are shown in the table. In the logistic regression model, non-TNFi switchers were 1.25 times as likely as TNFi cyclers to achieve all algorithm criteria for effectiveness (odds ratio, 1.248; 95% CI, 1.103–1.414; P<0.001). Achievement of treatment effectiveness criteria 12 months post-index TNFi cyclers Non-TNFi switchers P value (n=5,020) (n=1,925) Achieved all criteria 24.0% 27.8% 0.001 ≥80% Adherence 40.0% 41.7% 0.182 No dose increase 88.3% 96.7% <0.001 No switch to another bDMARD 65.4% 70.3% <0.001 No new conventional DMARD 84.7% 85.6% 0.353 No new/increased oral glucocorticoid 85.7% 84.7% 0.285 <2 Glucocorticoid injections in first 90 days 90.6% 90.6% 0.968 Conclusions On the basis of a claims-based algorithm of treatment effectiveness for RA, it appears that patients who switch from TNFi to non-TNFi agents are more likely to achieve treatment effectiveness criteria for 12 months after switching than patients who cycle to another TNFi. References Bonafede M et al. Adv Ther. 2012;29:664–674. Curtis JR, et al. Arthritis Res Ther. 2011;13:R155. Acknowledgement This study was sponsored by Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Jonathan Latham assisted with preparation and submission of the abstract. Disclosure of Interest M. Bonafede Employee of: Truven Health, which was awarded a research contract from Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals for this work, J. Curtis Consultant for: Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., D. McMorrow Employee of: Truven Health, which was awarded a research contract from Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals for this work, P. Mahajan Shareholder of: Sanofi, Employee of: Sanofi, C. Chen Shareholder of: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Employee of: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.


A B S T R A C T Iatrogenic perforation of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is one of the serious complications in GI endoscopy. With the advancement in technique of GI endoscopy especially therapeutic endoscopy, the risk of perforation has increased. Prompt detection is the only way to avoid delay treatment and poor outcome. Recently, there are new instruments and techniques developed that can be reliably applied for an endoscopic closure without the need for surgery. Therefore, endoscopists should be familiar with these instruments as the result of successful endoscopic closure has lower rate of morbidity than surgery. In this review, the techniques of endoscopic closure are described according to the organs of perforation. In addition, the general knowledge and management of perforation in other aspects including tension pneumothorax, abdominal compartment syndrome, or infection induced by contamination of GI content are explained.


This investigation examined the role of routines and activity structures as organizing features in middle school physical education. Six physical education specialists from one suburban middle school were observed during their first four lessons at the beginning of the year and during an additional lesson at midyear. Analysis revealed that routines and activity structures were well established by Day 4 and remained through midyear. Three categories of routines emerged: management, instructional support, and instructional exchange. Activity structures increased when formal instruction began, with four segments occurring during Days 1 and 2 and seven segments observed by Days 3 and 4. Although the types of routines used by these six teachers were similar, differences among teachers appeared to be related to how routines were presented, implemented, and enforced. A number of environmental features appeared to coerce utilization and implementation of routines.


The need to stimulate economic development using policy instruments to enhance the tax potential of regions and municipalities is supported by key postulates of economic theory and successful examples of international practice. It is hypothesised that decentralising the distribution of tax revenues contributes to an increase in regional tax potential. In order to examine this problem, methods of grouping, sampling, generalisation and comparison are used. Methodological aspects of the study of tax potential at the sub-national level are presented. The scope of both centralisation and decentralisation processes affecting tax revenues in the Russian Federation for 2006–2018 is considered. The proportion of tax revenues transferred to the federal budget and collected at the regional level is investigated on the example of six Russian regional groupings. An expansion of the group of regions whose federal taxes are more than 50 % along with a 10 % increase in transfers to the federal budget led to greater centralisation. Out of the considered regions, 53 % transferred over 30 % of their tax potential to the federal level. It was revealed that regions whose tax centralisation is approximately 15–30 % have the best budget figures (debt burden of less than 30 %, budget deficit of less than 4%, 7–9 % budget revenue growth). Continuing research aims to develop measures for increasing regional tax potential. The obtained findings can be used to substantiate and implement regulatory legal acts concerning budget and tax issues.


For the purpose of studying the effect of the quality of food on the growth and reproduction of crustaceans the type of Cyclops scutifer were used which ranked as the first record in Iraq and the test was bred and classification.  To find out the effect of the quality of food on this type it has been selected three groups of food. The first group was chlorophyll, the second group was chlorophyll with Paramecium and the third group was chlorophyll with larvae of mosquitoes in its early stages. After collections the results and conduct statistical test (F test), the results found that the quality of food had great influence on the growth of animals and productivity the impact was clear on the stages of growth and transition from one stages to another, and the number of eggs and the time between its lap and the continuation of life and preparation.


Background – Deprescribing, or the intentional discontinuation or dose-reduction of medications, is a patient-centered approach to reduce harms associated with inappropriate medication use. We sought to determine how direct-to-patient educational materials impacted patient-provider discussion about and deprescribing of potentially inappropriate medications.Methods – We conducted a pre-post with historical control group pilot feasibility trial at an urban VA medical center. We included patients in one of two medication-based cohorts: 1) proton pump inhibitor (PPI), defined as use of any dose for 90 consecutive days, or 2) hypoglycemia risk, defined by diabetes diagnosis; prescription for insulin or sulfonylurea; hemoglobin A1c <7%; and age >65 years, renal insufficiency, or cognitive impairment. The intervention consisted of mailing medication-specific patient-centered EMPOWER (Eliminating Medications Through Patient Ownership of End Results) brochures, adapted to a Veteran patient population, two weeks prior to scheduled primary care appointments. Our primary outcome – deprescribing – was defined as clinical documentation of target medication discontinuation or dose-reduction. Our secondary outcome was documentation of a discussion about the target medication (yes/possible vs. no/absent). Covariates included age, sex, race, specified comorbidities, medications, and utilization. We used chi-square tests to examine the association of receiving brochures with each outcome.Results – The 348 subjects (253 intervention, 95 historical control) were primarily age >65 years, white, and male. Compared to control subjects, intervention subjects were more likely to have deprescribing (36 [14.2%] vs. 4 [4.2%], p=0.009) and discussions about the target medication (31 [12.3%] vs. 1 [1.1%], p=0.001). Conclusions – Targeted mailings of EMPOWER brochures temporally linked to a scheduled visit in primary care clinics are a low-cost, low-technology method that successfully increased both deprescribing and documentation of patient-provider medication discussions in a Veteran population. Leveraging the ability of patients to drive medication prescribing changes within clinical encounters has potential to reduce drug burden and decrease adverse drug effects and harms.


Abstract Background Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are rare mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The size, the presence of a c-KIT gene mutation and the mitotic index are used to determine the prognosis and to direct systemic treatment choices. This study evaluated the use of radiomics, a technique which uses algorithms for diagnosing and predicting the c-KIT mutational status and mitotic index of GISTs from medical imaging features. Methods A combination of machine learning methods was used to distinguish treatment-naive GISTs from other GI tumors resembling GISTs on imaging, based on clinical and molecular characteristics, as well as imaging features extracted from the contrast-enhanced venous phase computed tomography scans. Evaluation was performed in a 100x random-split cross-validation with 20% of the data for testing. Results A total of 242 tumors were used for distinguishing GISTs (n = 123) from non-GISTs (n = 119) including leiomyoma (n = 25), schwannoma (n = 21), gastric carcinoma (n = 25), lymphoma (n = 23) and leiomyosarcoma (n = 25).The non-GISTs were located either gastric (23%) or non-gastric (77%) and the GISTs were located either gastric (63%) or non-gastric (37%). A c-KIT mutation was present in the majority of the GISTs (exon 9 n = 10, exon 11 n = 56, exon 13 n = 2). The dataset originated from 65 different scanners, leading to heterogeneity in the imaging protocols. Imaging feature analyses showed a mean area under the curve (mAUC) of 0.70 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.63-0.76) for distinguishing GIST from non-GISTs. A mAUC of 0.52 (95% CI 0.32-0.72) was found for predicting all c-KIT mutations, a mAUC of 0.51 (95% CI 0.29-0.72) for predicting a c-KIT exon 9 mutation, and a mAUC of 0.61 (95% CI 0.47-0.74) for predicting a c-KIT exon 11 mutation. The mitotic index was available in 83 patients (≤5/50 high power fields (HPFs) n = 53, 43.1%, >5/50 HPFs n = 33, 26.8%), and showed a mAUC of 0.60 (95% CI 0.47-0.73). Conclusions This pilot study showed the potential of radiomics to distinguish GIST from other GI tumors, but no potential in predicting c-KIT mutational status and mitotic index of GISTs. Further optimization and validation of the radiomics model is required to incorporate radiomics in the diagnostic routine of GISTs. Acknowledgement M.J. Timbergen and M.P.A. Starmans contributed equally to this study. Legal entity responsible for the study The authors. Funding The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.


Along with the advance of scientific powers strategic of our country, all types and levels funding limit and quantity of college scientific research project have also increased constantly. It is very important to have complete, accurate and fair evaluations for university scientific research project management performance. Fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) as a qualitative, a quantitative and comprehensive evaluation method can be able to evaluate the university scientific research project management performance effectively.


Extensions of time and liquidated damages variations direct loss and/or expense money claims under JCT 80 and IFC 84 money claims under JCT 63 claims under GC/Works/1 claims under the ACA form sub-contract claims common law claims preparation and negotiation of claims the quantity surveyor's approach to claims.


Previous studies have demonstrated that the ATP-binding cassette transporters (ABC)A1 and ABCG1 function in many aspects of cholesterol efflux from macrophages. In this current study, we continued our investigation of extracellular cholesterol microdomains that form during enrichment of macrophages with cholesterol. Human monocyte-derived macrophages and mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages, differentiated with macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) or granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulation factor (GM-CSF), were incubated with acetylated LDL (AcLDL) to allow for cholesterol enrichment and processing. We utilized an anti-cholesterol microdomain monoclonal antibody to reveal pools of unesterified cholesterol, which were found both in the extracellular matrix and associated with the cell surface, that we show function in reverse cholesterol transport. Coincubation of AcLDL with 50 μg/ml apoA-I eliminated all extracellular and cell surface-associated cholesterol microdomains, while coincubation with the same concentration of HDL only removed extracellular matrix-associated cholesterol microdomains. Only at an HDL concentration of 200 µg/ml did HDL eliminate the cholesterol microdomains that were cell-surface associated. The deposition of cholesterol microdomains was inhibited by probucol, but it was increased by the liver X receptor (LXR) agonist TO901317, which upregulates ABCA1 and ABCG1. Extracellular cholesterol microdomains did not develop when ABCG1-deficient mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages were enriched with cholesterol. Our findings show that generation of extracellular cholesterol microdomains is mediated by ABCG1 and that reverse cholesterol transport occurs not only at the cell surface but also within the extracellular space.


The airline industry has been marked by numerous incidents. One of the first, who accompanied the start of operation of the first airliners with jet engines, was directly related to the portholes. Indeed, the banal form of the windows was the source of stress concentrations, which combined with the appearance of micro cracks, caused the explosion in flight of the unit. Since that time, all aircraft openings receive special attention in order to control and reduce their impact on the aircraft structure. In this paper we focus on the representation and quantification of stress concentrations at the windows of a regional jet flying at 40000 feet. To do this, we use a numerical method, similar to what is done at major aircraft manufacturers. The Patran/Nastran software will be used the finite element software to complete our goals.


Customers expect from a store that displays expensive products to make an effort to decorate the store with atmospheric elements to create a prestige atmosphere. The four stores that the participants visited target upper-class customers and display expensive products. One of the participants mentioned that the atmosphere in Hip Hop remind her of a take-away restaurant. Hip Hop was making no effort to decorate its stores to create a hedonic experience for its customers. They were relying on their well-known brand name to sell their products. In the long run, this strategy will not be effective as the competition gets tougher and more brands enter the market. High-class fashion stores focus more on hedonic customers. Customers do not need to buy expensive clothes as there are many discount stores that could fulfil their clothing needs. In order for high-class fashion stores to attract customers they need to create a hedonic experience for their customers in the store. The customers must want to enter the store and spend time in the store. Atmospheric elements can attract customers to the store and influence the time they spend in the store. It is important that new fashion stores have the right atmospheric design in their stores. New stores cannot rely on a name as this is not well known. The atmospheric design of a store tells customers what they can expect in the store. One of our main findings is that there is a difference between the atmospheric designs in shopping centres. The fashion stores in the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town use atmospherics in their stores to create a prestige atmosphere for their upper-class customers. On the other hand, the atmospheric designs in the fashion stores in Canal Walk, which attracts middle-class customers, had a lower quality and were not regarded to be as prestige as those of the V&A Waterfront stores. The most expensive merchandise was also found in the fashion stores in the V&A Waterfront. Most of the stores in our sample use some atmospheric elements. However, the combination of the atmospheric elements in the stores did not always match. The participants viewed the atmospheric design as a whole and it was important to them that all the atmospheric elements fit together. The participants were noticeably disappointed with a store that did not make use of atmospherics to enhance its customers' shopping experience. They found the store too plain as the storeowner did not make any effort to decorate the store. When they entered a store that did make use of atmospherics, the participants mentioned that they would like to spend more time in the store. Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za


We developed and exhibited an interactive digital installation titled "Kabuku" for multiple participants at the outdoor square of the Kanazawa 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art to provide cultural night tourism in Kanazawa city. Kabuku can intuitively express loop music with various traditional musical instruments used in kabuki. A laser range finder is used to recognize multiple participants. Images are projected on the floor surface. Approximately 85 % of respondents had a good impression of the projected image expression of our installation, and approximately 90 % of respondents had a good impression of the sound expression. This paper demonstrated that our installation could be well represented both visually and auditorily.


Nitric oxide (NO) is an important signaling molecule overexpressed in many diseases, thus the development of NO-activatable probes is of vital significance for monitoring related diseases. However, sensitive photoacoustic (PA) probes for detecting NO-associated complicated diseases (e.g., encephalitis), has yet to be developed. Herein, we report a NO-activated PA probe for in vivo detection of encephalitis by tuning the molecular geometry and energy transformation processes. A strong donor-acceptor structure with good conjugation can be obtained after NO treatment, along with the active intramolecular motion, significantly boosting "turn-on" near-infrared PA property. The molecular probe exhibits high specificity and sensitivity towards NO over interfering reactive species. Noninvasive in vivo imaging indicates that PA signal lights up in lipopolysaccharide-induced encephalitis with a high signal-to-background ratio of 15.7. Further studies reveal that the probe is also capable of differentiating encephalitis in different severities, being beneficial for understanding the disease evolution processes and drug screening. This work will inspire more insights into the development of high-performing NO-activated PA probes for advanced diagnosis by making full use of intramolecular motion and energy transformation processes.


Poor coffee prices, constant delays in payment, lack of government support and poor management of cooperatives have been the major challenges that have faced Kenya's coffee sector for a while. Many Kenyan coffee farmers that had once reaped immense profits from the crop are no longer singing this tune. Although Kenyan coffee is considered among the best in the world, its farmers have been neglected despite it being Kenya's major export. It was therefore a great feat when on 14th February, 2015 the Coffee Board of Kenya unveiled a certification mark of origin,'Coffee Kenya So Rich, So Kenyan', aimed at promoting consumer loyalty in the importing countries all while proving the distinctiveneness of Kenyan coffee in the international market. The move follows the use of intellectual property rights to be able to create a niche market for the possibility of raising profits for the communities that grow the crop especially seeing how European markets have successfully used intellectual property to create such niche markets with their agricultural products. African markets are slowly but surely catching up, especially with the use of geographical indications for Penja pepper, Oku Honey, Rooibos tea amongst others. However, such initiatives do not come without downfalls. This paper examines the legal state of Kenya's coffee sector from the introduction of the Coffee Kenya certification mark. The aim of this research is to open a legal discussion around the already known problems plaguing the sector namely, the lack of transparency of the supply chain, failing cooperatives and the exclusion of smallholder farmers. It seeks to raise questions of whether the certification mark was a step too soon and whether these issues have been addressed since the introduction of the mark.


Introduction
Obesity has become a major health problem not only in industrialized societies but also in developing countries. Multiple studies have shown that bariatric surgery has been effective in reducing substantial amount of weight and also the comorbidities and is being performed more frequently as an established treatment. Due to anatomical and physiological alterations after surgery that impairs absorption of vitamin D and calcium, two fundamental factors in bone formation, their intestinal absorption is highly compromised.

Case report
We present a 48-year-old woman who was visited in emergency room for generalized bone pain, perioral paresthesia and carpopedal spasm. She had undergone bariatric surgery 15 years ago. Chvostek's sign and Trousseau's sign were positive. Examination of thoracic ribs elicited severe pain on palpation. Laboratory evaluation revealed: Ca = 6.1 mg/dL, P= 2.1 mg/dL, alkaline phosphatase = 432 (160-303), PTH=541 pg/mL, and 25(OH)D3= 3 ng/mL. Whole body bone scan showed increased uptake in the anterior arc of left 6th rib, posterior arc of left 6th and 12th ribs with increased uptake of costochondral joints.

Conclusion
Our case highlights the possible consequences that bariatric surgery may have on bone and mineral health and the need for regular and proactive follow-up of the patients.


The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) is a key contributor to the national drive to reduce avoidable health care-associated infections (HAIs) through the implementation of the cleanyourhands campaign. The campaign is based on international evidence of the most effective methods for achieving a sustained year-on-year improvement In compliance with hand hygiene (Larson et al, 2000; Pittet et al, 2000) and is targeted at NHS staff working in the acute sector.


Background Viral pathogens have not generally been regarded as important causes of severe hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP), except in patients with hematologic malignancy or transplant recipients. We investigated the role and distribution of viruses in adult with severe HAP who required intensive care. Methods From March 2010 to February 2012, adult patients with severe HAP required admission to the intensive care unit (ICU), 28-bed medical ICU in a tertiary care hospital, were prospectively enrolled. Respiratory viruses were detected using multiplex reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction and/or shell vial culture. Results A total of 262 patients were enrolled and 107 patients (40.8%) underwent bronchoscopic BAL for etiologic diagnosis. One hundred and fifty-six patients (59.5%) had bacterial infections and 59 patients (22.5%) had viral infections. Viruses were detected in BAL fluid specimens of 37 patients (62.7%, 37/59). The most commonly identified viruses were respiratory syncytial virus and parainfluenza virus (both 27.1%, 16/59), followed by rhinovirus (25.4%, 15/59), and influenza virus (16.9%, 10/59). Twenty-one patients (8.0%, 21/262) had bacterial-viral coinfections and Staphylococcus aureus was the most commonly coexisting bacteria (n = 10). Viral infection in non-immunocompromised patients was not uncommon (11.1%, 16/143), although it was not as frequent as that in immunocompromised patients (36.4%, 43/119). Non-immunocompromised patients were significantly older than immunocompromised patients and had significantly higher rates of underlying chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, tuberculous destroyed lung and chronic kidney disease. The 28 day mortalities of patients with bacterial infections, viral infections and bacterial-viral coinfections were not significantly different (29.5%, 35.6% and 19.0%, respectively; p = 0.321). Conclusions Viral pathogens are not uncommon in adult patients with severe HAP who required ICU admission. Since viral pathogens may cause severe HAP and could be a potential source of viral transmission, further investigation is required to delineate the role of viral pathogens in severe HAP.


Recent studies have implicated an N-terminal caspase-6 cleavage product of mutant huntingtin (htt) as an important mediator of toxicity in Huntington's disease (HD). To directly assess the consequences of such fragments on neurologic function, we produced transgenic mice that express a caspase-6 length N-terminal fragment of mutant htt (N586) with both normal (23Q) and disease (82Q) length glutamine repeats. In contrast to mice expressing N586-23Q, mice expressing N586-82Q accumulate large cytoplasmic inclusion bodies that can be visualized with antibodies to epitopes throughout the N586 protein. However, biochemical analyses of aggregated mutant huntingtin in these mice demonstrated that the inclusion bodies are composed largely of a much smaller htt fragment (terminating before residue 115), with lesser amounts of full-length N586-82Q fragments. Mice expressing the N586-82Q fragment show symptoms typical of previously generated mice expressing mutant huntingtin fragments, including failure to maintain weight, small brain weight and reductions in specific mRNAs in the striatum. Uniquely, these N586-82Q mice develop a progressive movement disorder that includes dramatic deficits in motor performance on the rotarod and ataxia. Our findings suggest that caspase-6-derived fragments of mutant htt are capable of inducing novel HD-related phenotypes, but these fragments are not terminal cleavage products as they are subject to further proteolysis. In this scenario, mutant htt fragments derived from caspase 6, or possibly other proteases, could mediate HD pathogenesis via a 'hit and run' type of mechanism in which caspase-6, or other larger N-terminal fragments, mediate a neurotoxic process before being cleaved to a smaller fragment that accumulates pathologically.


Reticulate porous ceramic reactors use foam-type absorbers in their operation which must fulfill two essential functions: favoring the volumetric effect and increasing the mass and heat transfer by acting as a support for the reactive materials. Heating these absorbers with highly inhomogeneous concentrate irradiation induces high thermal gradients that affect their thermal performance. Owing to the critical function of these component in the reactor, it is necessary to define a selection criterion for the foam-type absorbers. In this work, we performed an experimental and numerical thermal analysis of three partially stabilized zirconia (PSZ) foam-type absorbers with pore density of 10, 20, and 30 PPI (pores per inch) used as a volumetric absorber. A numerical model and an analytical approximation were developed to reproduce experimental results, and calculate the thermal conductivity, as well as volumetric heat transfer coefficient. The results show that an increase in pore density leads to an increase in the temperature difference between the irradiated face and the rear face of the absorber, this occurs because when pore density increases the concentrated energy no longer penetrates in the deepest space of the absorber and energy is absorbed in areas close to the surface; therefore, temperature gradients are created within the porous medium. The opposite effect occurs when the airflow rate increases; the temperature gradient between the irradiated face and the rear face is reduced. This behavior is more noticeable at low pore densities, but at high pore densities, the effect is less relevant because the internal structure of porous absorbers with high pore density is more complex, which offers obstructions or physical barriers to airflow and thermal barriers to heat transfer. When the steady state is reached, the temperature difference between the two faces of the absorber remains constant if the concentrate irradiation changes slightly, even changing the airflow rate. The results obtained in this work allow us to establish a selection criterion for porous absorbers that operate within solar reactors; this criterion is based on knowledge of the physical properties of the porous absorber, the environment, the working conditions, and the results expected.


In this paper, we investigate interactions between TCP and wireless hybrid FEC/ARQ schemes. The aim is to understand what is the best configuration of the wireless link protocol in order to guarantee TCP performance and channel efficiency. Interactions between TCP and different link layer mechanisms are evaluated by means of an analytic model that reproduces: 1) a Rayleigh fading channel with FEC coding, 2) a generic selective repeat ARQ Protocol, and 3) the TCP behavior in a wired-cum-wireless network scenario. The analytic model is validated-by means of ns-based simulations. The analysis represents a contribution to the optimal design of link layer parameters of wireless networks crossed by TCP/IP traffic. The main findings can be summarized as follows: 1) fully reliable ARQ protocols are the best choice for both TCP performance and wireless link efficiency and 2) optimal values of FEC redundancy degree from the point of view of energy efficiency maximizes TCP performance as well.


Bridge deck simulators (BDSs), 6 in. (15 cm) concrete cubes with an embedded temperature probe, are intended as a cost-effective substitute for RWIS pavement sensors to represent conditions likely on bridge decks in an area near an RWIS station. In this study, the effectiveness of the BDSs to predict the temperature on nearby bridge decks was evaluated. Nine sites were selected by Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) across the state of Ohio (six in northeastern region and three in southwestern region) which were instrumented in BDSs and Nu Metrics pavement sensors on the bridge deck and (with one exception) on the road surface off the bridge. The use of BDSs appears to be unique to Ohio. A survey in the state of Ohio indicated little use was being made of BDS information. RWIS temperature data collected at five minute intervals during winter season 2004-2005 were analyzed and the unusable data were weeded out by removing redundant entries, blank or incomplete entries, extreme temperature readings, and entries where sensor data were not updated. Correlation analysis was performed on the "cleaned" data from the nine sites for the air and BDS temperatures versus bridge deck and road temperatures, and also for air versus BDS temperatures. Separate correlations were made with all-day data and with nighttime data free of solar radiation effects. For both all -day and nighttime data, the BDS was found to better correlate with bridge deck and road temperatures than was the air temperature. The nighttime data were then further analyzed to determine 90%, 95%, 99% prediction limits for the prediction of bridge deck and road temperatures based on the BDS and air temperature values. Again, the prediction limits for bridge and road temperatures using the BDS were generally tighter than when using air temperature. Finite element analyses (FEA) were performed for the nine sites using ALGOR V18 software to investigate the temperature behavior of the bridge deck and the BDS for the air temperature profiles reflecting extreme positive and negative temperature gradients recorded at each site. The FEA modeling provided information about how the BDS and the bridge deck temperature change as a function of the air temperature and time. Larger concrete cube sizes, up to 24 in. (61 cm) on a side, were investigated with FEA in an exporatory manner. The 24 in. (61 cm) cube almost exactly matched the simulated bridge deck temperature profiles under a variety of air temperature loads. The FEA temperature profiles showed that the existing BDS does not always closely represent the true temperature behavior of the bridge deck, but that a concrete cube 4 times larger on a side would compare much better. Yearly training of maintenance personnel in the use of the BDS and RWIS is recommended.


The initiation and propagation of fatigue cracks during cyclic torsion loading was studied in a cast Al alloy (A357) with a relatively large (~500 ?m) grain size. 2D observations, revealed that multi site crack initiation occur on the {111} slip planes exhibiting the highest slip activity (iso-strain Taylor analysis), preferentially on planes nearly perpendicular to the sample axis. Within the first grain, the cracks have a pronounced crystallographic propagation mode (mode II crack growth) and strongly interact with the grain boundaries. In situ 3D monitoring of torsion fatigue tests using synchrotron X-ray tomography reveal that propagation towards the interior of the samples occurs first along the sample periphery in mode II leading to relatively shallow cracks which penetrate towards the sample center only after a large number of cycles is reached .The values of mode I, II and III stress intensity factors have been calculated from finite element simulation at the tip of the shallow mode II crack. Those values are used to analyse the bulk propagation of the observed cracks.


Pneumomediastinum is a rare clinical entity characterized by trapping of air in mediastinum. Conservative management is sufficient in majority of patients with pneumomediastinum. Herein we report two rare cases of pneumomediastinum that occurred after dental and aesthetic surgery. Since clinical courses of the two cases were divergent, one was treated conservatively while the other was treated surgically. Complete resorption of pneumomediastinum was detected during follow-up of both cases.


Zn–In–Se thin films were fabricated on the ultrasonically cleaned glass substrates masked with clover-shaped geometry by thermal evaporation of its elemental sources. Temperature-dependent conductivity characteristics of the films were investigated under dark and illuminated conditions. The semiconductor type of the films was found as n-type by thermal probe test. According to the van der Pauw technique, the dark electrical conductivity analyses showed that the variations of conductivity of unannealed and annealed at [Formula: see text]C samples are in exponential dependence of temperature. These conductivity profiles were found to be dominated by the thermionic emission at high temperature region whereas their behaviors at low temperatures were modeled by hopping theory. On the contrary, as a result of the further annealing temperatures, the surface of the samples showed semi-metallic characteristics with deviating from expected Arrhenius behavior. In addition, the temperature-dependent photoconductivity of the films was analyzed under different illumination intensities and the results were explained by the supra-linear characteristic based on the two-center recombination model.


With the rapid update and iteration of current aerial image data, the continual learning scenarios and catastrophic forgetting problem attracted increased attention, especially in the semantic segmentation task. However, the existing methods mainly focus on the class continual learning in a single task and are not satisfactory when extended to multiple tasks. In this article, we consider more realistic and complicated settings, namely task continual learning. We revisit the characteristics of semantic segmentation and knowledge distillation (KD) strategy, then propose a general and effective framework, named structured inheritance, to learn new tasks while retaining high performance on old tasks. Specifically, we present two structure-preserving penalties: pixel affinity structure loss and representation consistency structure loss. The former breaks the isolation of pixels and retains the pixel interactive information learned by the old tasks. At the same time, the latter protects high-frequency stationary information between sequence semantic segmentation tasks. Our approach does not need to add extra parameters nor does it need to access the data stream of the old tasks. Therefore, it can be applied in practical applications with strict computational burden, memory cost, and storage budget. Extensive continual learning experiments on four semantic segmentation datasets of Vaihingen, Potsdam, DeepGlobe, and Gaofen challenge semantic segmentation dataset (GCSS) prove the effectiveness of our proposed framework, which outperforms the current state-of-the-art methods and even exceeds the theoretical upper-bound performance of multitask learning. The code and models will be made publicly available.


In this paper, the effects of littoral submerged macrophytes on weak stratification conditions in a small and shallow lake are investigated. Diverse submerged macrophytes occupying a large portion of the littoral zone act as resistance to water motions and affect lake hydrodynamics. Strong solar radiation and mild wind forcing typically occurring during the summer season result in weak stratification characterized by a diurnal cycle with a temperature differential of 1–3 °C. Temperature and circulation dynamics of a small and shallow lake are depicted by extensive field measurements and a three-dimensional non-hydrostatic model with a generic length scale (GLS) approach for the turbulence closure and drag forces induced by macrophytes. Results show that the effects of macrophytes on velocity profiles are apparent. In the pelagic area, the circulation patterns with and without macrophytes are similar. The velocity profile is generally characterized by a two-layer structure with the maximum velocity at both the water surface and the mid-depth. In contrast, inside the littoral zone, the mean flow is retarded by macrophytes and the velocity profile is changed to only one maximum velocity at the surface with a steeper decrease until 2.0 m depth and another slight decrease to the lake bottom. From the whole lake perspective, littoral macrophytes dampen the horizontal water temperature difference between the upwind side and download side of the lake. Macrophytes promote a stronger temperature stratification by retarding mean flows and reducing vertical mixing. Overall, this study shows that the temperature structures and circulation patterns under weak stratification conditions in a small and shallow lake are strongly affected by littoral vegetation.


ABSTRACT Levels of spatial segregation in Western European cities are persistent over space and time. To demonstrate the degree or appearance of spatial segregation, most studies on urban residential patterns still rely on fixed spatial units, aspatial measures and single scales. However, a spatial or temporal comparison of patterns and levels of segregation based on such units or metrics is not without problems. To that end, this paper takes an explicit geographic approach and considers individualized neighborhoods using EquiPop-software, allowing various scales. Using the k-nearest neighbors for all individuals increases international comparability and facilitates interpretation, so far often hampered in segregation research. This multiscalar, multigroup comparative approach on ethnic urban geographies – using Belgium as a case study – provides an empirical illustration of a valuable method and tool applicable in segregation research, thereby furthering the comprehension of the increasingly diverse urban geographies and building on emerging work in the US, Europe and beyond.


We report tuned amplifiers designed for the 140-220-GHz frequency band. The amplifiers were designed in a transferred-substrate InP-based heterojunction bipolar transistor technology that enables efficient scaling of the parasitic collector-base junction capacitance. A single-stage amplifier exhibited 6.3-dB small-signal gain at 175 GHz. Three-stage amplifiers were subsequently fabricated with one design demonstrating 12.0-dB gain at 170 GHz and a second design exhibiting 8.5-dB gain at 195 GHz.


Objective: The goal of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of Chlamydial endometritis in women with menorrhagia attending Ain Shams University Maternity Hospital. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Ain Shams Maternity teaching hospital. Patients and methods: 300 women were divided randomly into two equal arms of 150 women in each one. Intervention: Patients admitted through the reception room or out-patient clinics (hospital department) and they scheduled for Pipelle endometrial sampling. Group I saught medical advice because of menorrhagia while group II were attending the hospital due to any other cause other than vaginal bleeding. Pipelle endometrial biopsy was taken and sent for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis by PCR. Results: In group I, 82 specimens were positive for Chlamydia and the other 68 specimens were negative for Chlamydia while in group II only 22 specimens were PCR positive for chlamydia. There was a statistical significant correlation between positive cases of C. endometritis and abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB). Conclusion: Screening for Chlamydia trachomatis in patients with menorrhagia is recommended.


One of the biggest challenges in human-agent interaction (HAI) is the development of an agent such as a robot that can understand its partner (a human) and interact naturally. To realize this, a system (agent) should be able to observe a human well and estimate his/her mental state. Towards this goal, in this paper, we present a method of estimating a child's attention, one of the more important human mental states, in a free-play scenario of child-robot interaction (CRI). To realize attention estimation in such CRI scenario, first, we developed a system that could sense a child's verbal and non-verbal multimodal signals such as gaze, facial expression, proximity, and so on. Then, the observed information was used to train a model that is based on a Support Vector Machine (SVM) to estimate a human's attention level. We investigated the accuracy of the proposed method by comparing with a human judge's estimation, and obtained some promising results which we discuss here.


We present an efficient, wavelet domain algorithm for computing the error variances associated with a wide class of linear inverse problems posed in a maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimation framework. Our method is based on the permutation and subsequent partitioning of the Fisher information matrix into a 2/spl times/2 block structure with the lower-right block well approximated as diagonal and significantly larger than the upper-left block. We prove that under appropriate conditions, this diagonal approximation does, in fact, allow for the accurate recovery of the error variances, and we introduce a greedy-type method based on the optimization of a diagonal dominance criterion for determining the "best" partition. We demonstrate the speed of this technique and its accuracy for a set of inverse problems corresponding to a variety of blurring kernels, problem sizes, and noise conditions.


This study explores the concept of self for women in consumer culture, as it is played out in an experiential advertising campaign for a U.K. women's magazine called Red. The study qualitatively explores the tensions and ambivalences experienced by female participants in response to a campaign using the notion of self-indulgence and "me time" as they experience it in the context of their everyday lives. It shows how women attempt to reconcile the mixed emotions that the Red campaign evokes in them.


The territory is configured by different urban models. During the last decades the tendency in many European countries has been forward to an urban sprawl development model. This kind of development causes several economic, social and environmental effects. This paper is focused on studying the environmental effects of the urban sprawl model for all municipalities of Valencia. These effects are measured over a set of 14 environmental indicators. First of all, an urban sprawl index is calculated by means of the Principal Component Analysis technique from the three more characteristic variables of the sprawl phenomenon. Finally, a regression model with spatially correlated effects is formulated with the aim of estimating the effects of the urban sprawl model on the environmental indicators. It is concluded that the sprawl model causes significant effects on most of the environmental indicators. http://dx.doi.org/10.4995/CIGeo2017.2017.6622


ABSTRACT Architecture-based heat dissipation analyses allow us to reveal fundamental sources of inefficiency in a given processor and thereby provide us with road-maps to design less dissipative computing schemes independent of technology-base used to implement them. In this work, we study architectural-level contributions to energy dissipation in an Artificial Neural Network (ANN)-based processor that is trained to perform edge-detection task. We compare the training and information processing cost of ANN to that of conventional architectures and algorithms using 64-pixel binary image. Our results reveal the inherent efficiency advantages of an ANN network trained for specific tasks over general-purpose processors based on von Neumann architecture. We also compare the proposed performance improvements to that of Cellular Array Processors (CAPs) and illustrate the reduction in dissipation for special purpose processors. Lastly, we calculate the change in dissipation as a result of input data structure and show the effect of randomness on energetic cost of information processing. The results we obtained provide a basis for comparison for task-based fundamental energy efficiency analyses for a range of processors and therefore contribute to the study of architecture-level descriptions of processors and thermodynamic cost calculations based on physics of computation. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have great potential for clinical treatment of bacterial infection due to the broad-spectrum and highly effective antibacterial activity. However, the easy degradation and inactivation in vivo has been a major obstacle for their application and an effective delivery system is demanding. The surface physicochemical properties of the carrier, including surface potential, surface polarity, pore structure and morphology, have exerted great effects on the adsorption and release behavior of AMPs. This study investigated the influence of micro/nano carriers with different hierarchical structures on the loading, release and biological behavior of AMPs. Three types of AMPs-loaded hydroxyapatite microspheres (HA/AMPs MSs) with different hierarchical structures (needle-like, rod-like, and flake-like) were developed, which was investigated by the surface morphology, chemical composition and surface potential in detail. The different hierarchical structures of hydroxyapatite microspheres (HA MSs) had noticeable impact on the loading and release behavior of AMPs, and the flake-like HA MSs with hierarchical structure showed the highest loading efficiency and long-lasting release over 9 days. Meanwhile, the stability of AMPs released from HA MSs was effectively maintained. Moreover, the antibacterial test indicated that the flake-like HA/AMPs MSs showed more sustained antibacterial properties among three composites. In view of the excellent biocompatibility and osteogenic property, high loading efficiency and the long-term release properties of HA MSs with hierarchical structure, the HA/AMPs MSs have a great potential in bone tissue engineering.